1989 countermanding case ends in acquittal

1989 countermanding case ends in acquittal
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, SEPT 28   
The sensational 1989 Countermanding of Elections conspiracy case has ended in an acquittal with the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao acquitting the accused persons on grounds that the prosecution has failed to establish its case.
JMFC Vandana Tendulkar acquitted the accused persons, including city-based lawyers, Adv Anacleto Viegas, Adv Radharao Gracias, Dr Ernesto Rodrigues, Freddy Dias, Norbert Almeida, Lino Ferrao, Joe Fernandes and Agostinho Fernandes for the offence punishable under Sections 199, 465, 471 and 120(B) of the IPC.
The verdict came exactly 20 years after the police had filed the first chargesheet in the court. The case had hit the headlines after elections to the Velim and Curtorim Assembly constituencies and the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency was countermanded in 1989 following the death of an Independent candidate, Caetano Jackson Fernandes.
Investigations later discovered that deceased Caetano Jackson had never filed his nomination papers for the three seats and that he was impersonated as part of a criminal conspiracy to countermand the polls.
In her 109 page order, JMFC Tendulkar said the offence of forgery is not proved, saying the evidence on record is not at all sufficient to show that the nomination papers submitted before the Returning Officer were fraudulently and dishonestly prepared by the accused persons in the name of Caetano Jackson Fernandes.
The judge said there is also no sufficient evidence on record to show that there was a false declaration made in the course of submission of the nomination papers in the name of Caetano Jackson Fernandes. “Even the alleged act of impersonation of Caetano Jackson by accused No 4 has not been proved by the prosecution, since none of the material witnesses of the prosecution have identified the accused as the person present before the Returning Officer to submit the nomination papers in the name of Caetano Jackson”, the judge said.
As far as the offence of conspiracy is concerned, Judge Tendulkar said the conspiracy between all the accused persons with intention to countermand the election has not been established. “The case of the prosecution that the accused persons had made a search in the respective constituencies for the persons on the death bed and thereafter had filled up the nomination forms in the names of those persons by impersonating them and by proposing the fake candidate in their names is not at all seen proved”, the judge said.
The judge observed that the prosecution by means of evidence on record has failed to show any agreement or league between all the accused persons having the main object of countermanding of the elections. The judge said there is no incriminating material available against some of the accused.
Freddy Dias, who was instrumental in exposing the conspiracy to countermand the elections by the accused persons through his own investigations, later told newsmen that he would file a revision application in the court against the order of acquittal passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao.