PANJIM: The North Goa Additional Sessions Court, Panjim has dismissed a criminal revision application filed by the Porvorim police, seeking to set aside order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Mapusa directing the police to register murder case into the death of one Nicolao Pinto of Malim, Penha de Franca in January last year.
The police filed a criminal revision application after the JMFC, Mapusa passed an order on May 2, 2023 directing them to register the Pinto’s death as a murder case after the cops had registered Pinto’s death as unnatural death on January 1, 2022.
The post-mortem examination report revealed that the cause of death was due to pulmonary and cerebral oedema associated with acute myocardial infarction and occlusive coronary artery disease in the person having blunt inpuries over the face and scalp. But PSI Pratik BhatPrabhu, recorded statements of witnesses, including the victim’s daughter and filed a final investigation report under section 174 CrPC in the court of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mapusa, in October last year.
Victim’s daughter Melcy Pinto filed a complaint dated August 5, 2022, alleging that on the fateful day, when her father was alone at home in inebriated condition he was assaulted by a neighbourhood trio and their family members, due to previous enmity, assaulted him with blunt objects, resulting in his death. Since the police did not take any action, Melcy wrote to the Superintendent of Police, requesting to exercise his powers under section 154(3) CrPC. As the complaint was not registered, she filed an application under section 156(3) CrPC, before the JMFC, who by the impugned orders partly allowed the application and directed the police to investigate into the complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC and file a report under section 173 CrPC.
Aggrieved by the order, PSI Pratik Bhat Prabhu filed a criminal revision application before the Sessions Court, Panjim.
During the hearing public prosecutor D Gawas submitted that the police after conducting a detailed inquiry, including recording the statements of the complainant and her friend Kishore, had come to a conclusion that there was no foul play and had submitted the report in terms of Section 174 CrPC to the SDM and therefore, there is no question to register the FIR in terms of Section 154. He said that the impugned order was bad in law and was required to be quashed and set aside.
As against this, Adv Vinayak Porob relied on the judgment of the Bombay High Court, in the case of State v/s Sainath Shivram Jhalmi, {criminal revision application No. 4/2009} and submitted that this revision was not maintainable and is thus required to be dismissed.
Sessions Judge Edgar Fernandes said that the police had no right to challenge the order of JMFC. The Court declined to consider the contention of the public prosecutor that no offence was brought out, and stated that the police will have to first register the complaint and investigate the same.
But inspite of two orders, the Porvorim police have not registered FIR till date thereby amounting to defiance of both the orders, according to the victim’s daughter.
