The Supreme Court had on July 31 granted relief to Pacheco by staying the order passed by the High Court of Bombay, upholding the order of the South Goa Sessions Court convicting and sentencing him to six months imprisonment with fine.
The Bombay High Court on July 17, 2014, had asked the Nuvem MLA to surrender to the court within two weeks of the order. However, Pacheco appealed in the Supreme Court, which stayed the order of the High Court. “I had come to the Court to submit a copy of the Supreme Court order staying the High Court order. It took me some time to submit the copy as I had applied in the Apex Court for certified copies of the order”, he said.
When asked to comment on reports that he may be soon inducted in the Parrikar Cabinet, Mickky evaded a reply, saying he has nothing to say on the matter. “The media have been saying that I may be inducted into the Cabinet, but I have no clue on the subject till date. And I have nothing to say on the matter”, Mickky said.
There have been speculations post-Lok Sabha polls that the GVP supremo may be inducted into the Parrikar dispensation in lieu of his support to the BJP South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar in the election. Though the BJP could not lead over the Congress in Nuvem constituency, the party had for the first time polled sizeable votes in the Catholic-dominated constituency, with Mickky’s supporters attributing BJP’s surge in the constituency to hard work put in by the GVP supremo.
