PANJIM: Advocate Aires Rodrigues has accused the Goa government of falsely implicating him in the case questioning his Indian citizenship. During the hearing of his anticipatory bail plea before the North Goa Principal District & Sessions Judge Irshad Agha, Rodrigues said he has reasonable ground to believe that on account of his animosity with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar he has been falsely implicated in this case.
In a 25-page reply, Rodrigues reiterated that he is a citizen of India and has at no point of time surrendered his Indian citizenship. The advocate had moved the court after being issued summons to appear in a three-year old complaint that alleged he is not an Indian national, but holds a Portuguese passport.
He pointed out that for over the last four decades he has taken up various issues in public interest, including confronting the CM and the Police Department. “The case is false and fabricated against me and it is being investigated out of vindictiveness. The complaint is mischievously, malafiedly with ulterior motive and for oblique purposes is filed against me,” he argued during the hearing on Tuesday.
Taking exception to the statement made by the Crime Branch in their say that 13 criminal cases were pending against him, Rodrigues, pointing out that not a single criminal case was pending against him drew the Court’s attention to the letter of the Superintendent of Police, Special Branch on May 18, 2016 written to the Goa Passport Officer recommending that he be issued a passport as there was no criminal case against him.
The court has adjourned the bail plea to January 11 while directing that interim relief granted to Rodrigues will continue.
