MARGAO, OCT 7
Justice delayed is justice denied, so goes the saying.
If the sensational 1989 countermanding of election conspiracy case finally ended in an acquittal after a long trial spanning 20 long years, the trial in the infamous 2001 ticketgate scam is yet to take off till date, nearly a decade after the cricket scam hit the State during the India-Australia One Day International Match at the Nehru Stadium on April 6, 2001.
Even as the Goa Cricket Association and the state administration is bracing up to host the India-Australia ODI tie on October 24, there’s no sign that trial in the fake cricket ticket case would commence in the immediate future.
For, the appeal filed by GCA chief Dayanand Narvekar challenging the order of the South Goa Sessions court upholding the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao framing criminal charges against him and eight others is pending in the High Court for the last couple of years now.
Sources say the High Court had stayed the Sessions Court order upholding the order of the JMFC to frame charges against Narvekar, GCA officials Vinod Phadke, Ramashankar Das, Chinmay Fallari, Devdutt Fallari, Gajanan Bhise, Joaquim Pires,Venkat Raut Dessai and Eknath Naik.
Since then, the matter has been pending in the High Court, as a result of which trial in the sensational case has not begun, though nearly 10 years have passed since genuine cricket ticket holders had to suffer the brunt of police batons outside the stadium.
The Margao police, which later investigated into the case, filed a chargesheet against the nine accused, charging Dayanand Narvekar, Vinod Phadke and Ramashankar Das for allegedly conspiring with the ticket contractor Chinmay Fallari for the sale of tickets by manipulating the tender and awarding the contract to the contractor for a consideration of Rs 68 lakkhs.
That in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, the three accused, who were members of the tender committee allegedly intentionally placed orders for 29,000 tickets/complimentary, before Hitech Print system, Hyderabad beyond the 27,300 seating capacity of the stadium.
Moreover, the police alleged that the excess tickets worth Rs 9.37 lakh were unauthorisely diverted to Narvekar’s brother-in-law Eknath Naik for sale.
