Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa quashed and set aside an order passed by the then Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate entertaining an appeal and staying order of the Deputy Collector regarding demolition of an unauthorized structure, beyond 60 days.
High Court Judge Justice B P Colabawalla stated that the Revenue Minister had no power to condone the delay beyond a period of 60 days as per Section 7 of The Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction Act, 2016. The impugned order dated August 25, 2021 passed by the Minister suffers from an error apparent on the face of the record, the Judge said.
Santana Rodrigues of Borim has filed a writ petition challenging the order dated August 25, 2021 passed by the Revenue Minister, who was the appellate authority under the Act, on grounds that the appellate authority had no power to condone the delay when the appeal was filed beyond 60 days from the date of the order passed by the authorised officer i.e. Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Ponda.
The petitioner had filed a complaint dated September 13, 2006 with the Borim Village Panchayat against the illegal construction of a RCC structure carried out by Francisco Xavier Fernandes on property bearing survey number 166/1 of Borim village in Ponda taluka. The petitioner had further stated that the respondent had illegally constructed the RCC structure under the garb of repairs.
