One of the most acclaimed American writer Lois McMaster Bujold had said “The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them”. Today on Dussehra which commemorates the victory of God Rama over the demon King Ravana for Sita the grieving mother of late Sameer Mapari from Xelvona it has been a long fight against how the alleged killers of her only son have walked free. The Bombay High Court at Goa has reserved the verdict on the challenge to the order passed by then Margao Additional Sessions Judge Desmond D’Costa acquitting the three accused in the 2007 killing of Sameer Mapari. The legality of the acquittal will be examined by the High Court to see whether the wheels of justice in the case had strictly moved in accordance with law. The three accused Rajesh Desai, Balesh Desai and Vinay Desai were on 20th Feb last year acquitted of murder charges by Judge Desmond D’Costa. The main accused Rajesh Desai is the younger brother of former BJP MLA and Industries Minister Ramrao Desai. Judge Desmond D’Costa’s wife Jyoti Dhond is the Director and General Manager of BJP run Marathi daily newspaper ‘Goa Doot’ besides being a very close confidante of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. The Prosecution case was that the three accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to eliminate their former employee Sameer Mapari while taking him to the farm house of the main accused Rajesh Desai and intentionally causing his death by deceitful means. The Prosecution in the case had examined 100 witnesses. A bear reading of Judge Desmond D’Costa’s order acquitting the three accused leaves a lot to question. Any Court judgment which smacks of tilted scales of justice cannot be allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged. Did Judge Desmond D’Costa err in rejecting the case of the Prosecution that the dead body was infact that of Sameer Mapari despite it being proved beyond any doubt. Was it not a wrong finding by Judge Desmond D’Costa that the DNA report was negative though factually the report did not state so? As it is undisputed that the death of the Sameer Mapari was homicidal, did Judge Desmond D’Costa fail to appreciate that the Prosecution had proved the motive of the crime which was evident from the deposition of various witnesses including the mother of late Sameer Mapari. In order to discard the case of the Prosecution was the evidence selectively utilized without true appreciation of the effect of the entire evidence. Did Judge Desmond D’Costa lay undue importance on the missing report vis-à-vis the identification mark of the deceased and the nature of the shirt that was worn by him on whether, it was a ‘T’ shirt or a bush-shirt. The public revelation by the Public Prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha that she was politically pressurized during the trial is a matter of grave concern that the High Court would also have to take cognizance of. The faith of the citizens and the public at large stands shaken with such revelations. The murder trial of these three accused was going on before the South Goa Principal Sessions Judge Nutan Sardessai but the politically well connected accused in August 2012 managed to get the proceedings transferred before Additional Sessions Judge Desmond D’Costa. If the High Court upholds Judge Desmond D’Costa’s order than he should definitely be in the line of consideration for elevation to the High Court. But if the verdict goes the other way, Judge Desmond D’Costa deserves to be on his way home. The now much awaited High Court judgment will decide it all.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 03:27:31 +0000
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