Team Herald
PANJIM: Admitting technical error, the State government has withdrawn a notice of externment to the founder of Revolutionary Goans Manoj Parab.
Parab, booked for a violent protest at the now-scrapped IIT project in Shel-Melauli had moved the High Court of Bombay at Goa challenging the notice by North Goa Collector to initiate externment proceedings against him.
The Criminal Writ Petition challenged the very notice of externment on ground of jurisdiction, viz that the Awalkarkaun in Office of District Magistrate (North Goa) Priya Parab, had no authority nor jurisdiction under the law, to issue the show cause notice.
The petitioner also urged the court to stay further proceedings pending hearing and disposal of the criminal writ petition he has filed against the State, North Goa District Magistrate and police among others.
When the petition came up for admission before the division bench of Justice M S Sonak and Justice Bharati Dhangare, Public Prosecutor S G Bhobe said the notice issued was not tenable and was being withdrawn. He also informed the court that proper course of action would be followed.
The Court accepted the statement that the notice was withdrawn with liberty to take appropriate action as per law.
The North Goa police had recently filed a report with the Magistrate seeking his externment from the district for two years considering his ‘notorious’ activities. In the wake of this report, Parab had been directed to appear before the Magistrate on Thursday at around 3:30pm.
Parab, in his petition to the court, stated that he had applied for a certified copy of the Roznama to pursue his matter with the authorities after he was served the notice but there is no Roznama written. The petitioner thus filed the petition challenging the notice while contending that “there is no order made by the District Magistrate in the file.”
Meanwhile, at a press conference held in the capital on Wednesday, members of Revolutionary Goans claimed that process of externment proceeding against Parab has been “thrown out.”
The newly launched political outfit has accused the BJP government of harassing family members of activists, who have launched a crusade against controversial projects.
