The Bombay High Court at Goa on Monday delivered a scathing in dictment of the police re sponse to the assault on advocate Ankur Kumar and his client, Anil Naik, at Morjim, expressing serious concern over glaring lapses in both police communica tion and the initial investi gation before ordering the case to be taken away from Pernem police. In a strong signal that it had lost confidence in the manner in which the inves tigation was being handled, the division bench of Jus tice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Hiten S Venegavkar directed the Superinten dent of Police (North) to immediately transfer the FIR investigation to an ex perienced Police Inspec tor from a police station outside the Pernem subdi vision.
The newly appoint ed investigating officer will function under the di rect supervision of the SP (North), while the SDPO, Pernem, has been express ly barred from interfering in the investigation “in any manner.” The Court also directed that the identity of the new investigating officer be placed before it on Tues day and ordered the pres ent investigating officer and the officer-in-charge of Mandrem Police Sta tion to immediately hand over the entire case dia ry, station diary extracts, seizure records, medical documents, electronic evidence and all other in vestigation records to en sure an independent and uninterrupted probe. The unprecedented directions came while the High Court was hearing suo motu pro ceedings initiated on a letter from the Goa High Court Bar Association over the alleged attack on advocate Kumar and demolition petitioner Anil Naik during the implementation of the Court’s demolition orders at Morjim on July 17. According to the Court’s order, Kumar and Naik were present at the demolition site along with officials from the Pernem Mamlatdar’s office, the Goa Coastal Zone Manage ment Authority (GCZMA), Morjim Village Panchayat and the demolition squad when they were allegedly assaulted by the owner of one of the structures and others, who also ob structed the demolition drive.
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The Bench clarified that these allegations remain subject to investigation and that its observations are only prima facie. The Bench reserved some of its strongest criticism for the apparent breakdown in po lice communication that left the demolition operation without police protection despite clear judicial directions. The Court noted that its demolition order dated July 8 had reached the SP (North) on July 10 and was forwarded to the SDPO, Pernem, on July 13 with instructions to provide police protection. Yet, Mandrem Police Station received the communication only at around 4.45 pm on July 17—after the alleged assault had already taken place. Describing the delay as a ‘serious lapse’, the Court observed that official records sug gested the communication remained pending in the SDPO’s office for several days. It warned that responsibility would be fixed on officers found accountable after examining the official records. The Bench also questioned why civil authorities proceeded with the demolition of 19 illegal structures without first ensuring that the mandated police protection was actually in place. The Court was equally critical of the investigation that followed the assault, pointing to what appeared to be a series of omissions despite the seriousness of the incident. It noted that there had been delays in registering the FIR even though the advocate had sustained serious injuries, including a fracture near his right eye. The Court further found that statements of crucial eyewitnesses — including the Mamlatdar, Talathi, GCZMA sur veyor and village panchayat officials — had still not been recorded. Investigators had also failed to collect complete medical records from Goa Medical College and Hospital and the private hospital where the injured were treated. To prevent further lapses, the Court directed the new investigating officer to immedi ately secure CCTV footage, original DVRs, mobile phone videos, police control room re cords, ambulance logs and all other electronic evidence while maintaining a proper chain of custody. It also ordered the collection of complete medical records and directed that statements of all government officials and independent witnesses be recorded without delay.
The investigating officer has also been tasked with reconstructing the entire commu nication trail relating to the High Court’s demolition orders to establish how and why police protection failed to reach the site before the violence erupted. The officer has been directed to remain personally present before the Court at 2.30 pm on Tuesday with the complete investigation records. Maintaining close judicial oversight, the Bench directed the SP (North) to submit an initial status report by Tuesday detailing every step taken in the investigation. Simultane ously, the Member Secretary of the GCZMA and the Pernem Deputy Collector have been directed to continue implementing the demolition orders with adequate police protection and file progress reports supported by photographs. The Court has also called for individual affidavits from the Pernem Mamlatdar, the Mor jim Talathi, the concerned GCZMA surveyor, panchayat officials and the SDPO, Pernem, ex plaining when they received the Court’s orders, what steps they took to implement them and the events they personally witnessed during the demolition operation
