TEAM HERALD
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned, for a week, the hearing on a petition by Benaulim MLA Caetano ‘Caitu’ Silva of Goa Vikas Party (GVP) with Valanka Alemao’s lawyer asking for time to file documents to show that he is not an Indian citizen, before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court.
The citizenship issue in the case may not only impact Caitu and Aldona BJP MLA Glen Ticlo who too had acquired the Portuguese citizenship in April 2006, much before filing nomination papers in 2012, as also some 2,000 Goa government employees who had secured the Portuguese citizenship to enable their children enjoy free access to the European Union.
Caitu’s lawyer also pleaded before the Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and Gopala Gowda to give him right to file objections. The court adjourned the case on being told that the election petition of Valanka, the defeated Congress candidate and daughter of former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao, is listed before the Goa Bench on Friday.
Her lawyers want to agitate before the High Court to disqualify him on the strength of the Home Ministry order dated November 20 that he ceased to be an Indian on acquiring the Portuguese citizen on July 21, 2010, much before filing his nomination in the Assembly elections.
Caitu had approached the Supreme Court challenging the July 5 order of the Goa Bench’s single judge Justice A P Lavande rejecting his plea to dismiss the election petition against him on the ground that none of the grounds cited by him have any merit.
The Supreme Court had earlier adjourned his case on September 17, directing Valanka’s lawyer to produce documents filed with the Election Commission to show that he had voluntarily acquired the Portuguese citizenship. The case was listed on October 1 after both sides filed documents and the same was adjourned for the hearing on Wednesday.
The Home Ministry had pronounced Silva as not an Indian citizen necessary to qualify for contesting the election last Wednesday on the complaint by John Fernandes of Varca, Salcete, a family friend of Churchill Alemao, to help his daughter in the election petition.
