Alexandre Moniz Barbosa
The news of the passing of Justice Eurico Santana da Silva firmed up the belief that the era that produced Goan men and women who resolutely stood by the values of honesty, integrity and their unwavering commitment to justice is ending. This was reaffirmed by the posts that popped up through the day, posts penned by his colleagues in the legal fraternity who had only superlatives with which to
describe him.
One such post stated that Justice da Silva was known for ‘discipline, decorum and a display of decent conduct’ throughout his tenure, while another remembered him for his
‘unwavering integrity, unimpeachable character, exceptional legal acumen’, and for being a
‘shining exemplar of the noble profession’.
There will be nobody who would dispute any of what was written about him, surely not those who knew the Justice in the courts and definitely not those who knew him
personally.
To a large number of Goans, the name of Eurico da Silva is associated by the prefix Justice, for he ended his long legal career as a judge of the High Court of Bombay, but one has to remember that he also held a number of positions before and after that.
Having studied law during the colonial period, Justice da Silva obtained a degree in Law and post graduated in Historical and Juridical Sciences from the Faculty of Law, University of Coimbra, Portugal. His first appointment as judge was before Liberation, in 1957, beginning a career in the judiciary that would last 38 years.
In 1964, after Liberation, he was promoted as Civil Judge, Senior Division and Judicial Magistrate First Class. From there his professional rise came quite regularly, getting appointed as Chief Judicial Magistrate in 1974, and Additional Sessions Judge, the same year. In 1980 he was appointed Additional District and Sessions Judge and a year later as District and Sessions Judge. He was elevated to the Bench of the Bombay High Court as Additional Judge in 1990 and posted as Permanent Judge at the Panaji Bench of the same High Court. In 1991 he was appointed as Puisne Judge of the Bombay High Court and retired in 1995.
During this period he also served in various positions. As One Man Commission of Inquiry he probed the irregularities by officers functioning as Custodians of Evacuee Property, and was also member of the University Court of the Goa University as a nominee of the Governor and member of the Indian Society of Human Rights, Nagpur. Following retirement, he was also appointed Chairman of the State Police Complaints Authority apart from being a resident of the Goa State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
Justice da Silva’s contributions to the legal field will be remembered through the thoughtful deliberations in his judgements that could come about only because of his profound understanding of the law.
One particular order that he passed as chairperson of the SPCA, that I remember and seems pertinent to recall as it indicates his respect for human rights and understanding of the situation in the State, came in a case wherein police had acted on an activist protesting at a State function. The order had stated, ‘The SPCA hopes that such regretful trend of uncontrolled pressure and subordination of the police by the political class comes to an early end so that the police of the State become people friendly.’
He was, no doubt, a distinguished member of the judiciary but Justice da Silva’s impact in Goa went beyond the courtroom, as he was also involved in the community initiatives. Personally, I met Justice da Silva a few times, and despite the vast difference in age, he was always the courteous and respectful gentleman who everybody remembers. In 2011, ever gracious as always, the retired justice even consented to release my book ‘Goa Rewound’.
The impact that the soft-spoken jurist had on the many lawyers he inspired cannot be forgotten, or the fact that of his four sons, one is today following in the footsteps of the father scaling up the judiciary ladder in Goa.
Justice Eurico Santana da Silva will, therefore, be remembered not just as a jurist but as a devoted husband, father, friend and mentor, as this veritable pillar of justice will be missed by family, friends and the legal fraternity.