PANAJI
The investigations into the ongoing jobs-for-cash scandal in the State involving multiple police stations come across as impressive with the men-in-uniform arresting multiple ‘main accused’ and accomplices. However, members of the legal fraternity do not seem to be impressed and some hold the opinion that a conviction from a court will be highly improbable.
Multiple lawyers primarily taking up criminal briefs The Goan spoke to have said the investigations in such cases and the evidence gathered in the process have to thread a path that is deep enough to link the chain of all the accused involved in specific cases and eventually to a public servant actually responsible for the job selection process.
At least two lawyers, who have handled criminal matters in their decades long legal careers have said that convictions in such cases of bribery and corruption are extremely rare and possible only when the chain of links and connectivity among all involved and the proceeds of crime (cash) is tightly established.
“There is also the question of the accusers (witnesses) staying firm in their testimony and not wilting to the pressure during cross-examination in the trial. The quality of evidence has to be superlative. The evidential threshold is extremely high to achieve a conviction,” said noted Panaji-based lawyer, Ryan Menezes.
Menezes none-the-less pointed out that conviction is very much possible for “cheating” in cases where money has been accepted from an individual to ensure a government job but the money-giver did not eventually land one.
Interestingly all the cases currently under the radar of the Goa police at multiple police stations are of the nature pointed out by Menezes: where cash has been taken on the pretext of ensuring a government job but the end result has not fructified.
Menezes said, he has not minutely followed any of the cases or relevant police investigations in the jobs-for-cash cases currently playing out. He opined though that unbridled testimony of the accusers (witnesses) at the time of trial and they holding their ground during cross-examination without wavering would be crucial for the prosecution to succeed in getting a conviction from the court even for “cheating charges”.
As far as conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Menezes said a conviction is possible but the link with the “public servant” must be established and the actual passing of gratification (bribe) proved.
Mapusa-based lawyer Vinayak Porob said: “From my experience, convictions in such cases of corruption are extremely rare and close to impossible to achieve. The chain of links between multiple players involved has to be established which is an uphill task for the police. It has to be then proved in court, beyond doubt,” Porob said.
Like Menezes, Porob too made the disclosure that he has not meticulously followed the jobs-for-cash cases currently playing out or the police investigations into these.
Another senior lawyer based in the capital city told The Goan that the police investigation has made some good progress but expressed doubt that police will actually go all the way up to clinch the links to players up the ladder in the administration and the government.
“Without the link reaching authoritative officials in the government who had the powers in recruitment processes, these investigations will lead nowhere in terms of a meaningful prosecution in court and securing a conviction,” said the top lawyer who requested anonymity.
Charging Pooja for ‘abetment to suicide’ a fallacy, says top lawyer
PANAJI: The police action of booking a First Information Report (FIR) and charging Pooja Naik for ‘abetment to suicide’ in the case of the death of the government official from Priol, Shridhar Satarkar, is fallacy, a top lawyer principally practicing criminal law has said.
For applying the charge of ‘abetment to suicide’ there has to be a direct connect with the persons act of ending his/ her life, the lawyer said, adding that in the case of Satarkar, he went missing after he was called by the police to join the investigation and later found dead in what is suspected to be suicide.
