In a major development, the North Goa Sessions Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a First Information Report (FIR) within 24 hours in connection with a massive ₹300 crore land scam involving government-owned property allotted to the Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
The directive comes after the High Court of Bombay at Goa, on October 15, 2024, overturned a previous 2020 Sessions Court order that had dismissed the plea for criminal investigation. The High Court instructed the lower court to reconsider the case afresh, following which the Sessions Court acknowledged the merits of the complaint.
The case, initiated through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by a group of citizen activists, alleges serious charges of corruption, cheating, nepotism, and collusion involving EDC, private developers, and several government bodies including the Oriental Bank of Commerce (now merged with PNB), RBI, Income Tax Department, and others.
According to the petitioners, government-owned land handed over to the EDC was illegally leased or sold to private developers and government departments without following due legal process, resulting in a loss of over ₹300 crore to the public exchequer.
The Sessions Court, presided by Judge Irshad Agha, observed that while the land was clearly owned by the government and held by EDC, the subsequent construction and leasing of buildings — housing agencies like BSNL, GST, SBI, Bank of Baroda, and government departments — were done in violation of lease norms. The petitioners also alleged that departments such as the Town and Country Planning (TCP), GSPCB, and Urban Development were made to purchase spaces at inflated land costs, despite the land being originally government property.
Notably, the petition claims that politicians, ministers, top legal officers, and even some advocates acquired premises in the allegedly illegal buildings.
Slamming the delay in initiating criminal action, Judge Agha stated:
“There is nothing exceptional in the present case that warrants the delay in registration of an FIR on the ground of preliminary inquiry… there is enough material to directly register the FIR.”
The court emphasized that any preliminary inquiry should not have exceeded two days, and in this case, there was sufficient evidence to warrant immediate action.
With this order, the CBI has been tasked to take up the investigation, marking a pivotal step in a case that may expose systemic lapses and high-level complicity in one of Goa’s biggest land frauds in recent years.