Judge pulls up jailor
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JULY 5
Where is Mickky Pacheco? What is his latest medical status? These questions came to the fore in the Sessions Court on Monday during hearing of former tourism minister’s bail plea, prompting a visibly perturbed Additional Sessions Judge P V Kamat to censure a judicial lock up jailor.
“You are unfit to be a jailor. This is a serious case”, Judge Kamat remarked, even as he demanded to know the whereabouts of the accused.
Judge asked the jailor whether he has come to the court to “see” the people and directed the jailor to produce Mickky in the court. The jailor later came to the court with the medical status of the former tourism minister.
The matter came to light when Public Prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha drew attention of the judge to the absence of Pacheco in the courtroom. “The proceedings in the court started at 3.30 pm, but the accused is not present in the court despite the expiry of the two-day period of judicial custody. The medical status of the accused is also not available”, she asserted, adding that the accused is duty-bound to be present in the court today.
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch appears bracing up to take the former tourism minister in their custody. The Crime Branch is set to oppose Pacheco’s bail plea in the Sessions Court on Tuesday and seek his police custody.
Sources in Crime Branch did not rule out the possibility of demanding the constitution of a medical board to seek the medical status of the former minister.
