SC orders notice be issued in Aires case

SC orders notice be issued in Aires case
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 23
A  Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph has directed that notice be issued to the State of Goa on the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Adv Aires Rodrigues.
It may be recalled that Aires had challenged the September 23rd 2008, order of Justice N A Britto of the Bombay High Court rejecting the prayer to allow summons to be issued to Divya Rane in a private criminal case filed against the Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane. 
Directing that the matter be posted for final hearing after four weeks the Court today granted Adv Aires Rodrigues’s plea to stay the Criminal trial of Health Minister Vishwajit Rane pending before Panaji Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Edgar Fernandes till the issue of summons to Divya Rane is decided.
 The Supreme Court will now also examine another interesting development whereby the Old Goa Police have closed the case filed on 31st July 2007 by Adv Aires Rodrigues against Vishwajit Rane. This is despite a statement made by the Public Prosecutor Winnie Coutinho to the High Court on 23rd September last year that a charge-sheet will be filed against Vishwajit Rane in due course of time.
 Senior Counsel V A Mohta appearing for Rane today strongly opposed the SLP but the Court ruled that the legality of the Bombay High Court order upholding the JMFC’s decision not to issue summons to Divya Rane had to be examined.
It may be recalled that Rane had initially engaged Senior Counsel Mahesh Jethmalani.
 Adv Rodrigues in his SLP has submitted to the Supreme Court that since the alleged threatening call came from the mobile of Divya Rane, the circumstances under which the mobile came in the possession of Rane are all facts within the knowledge of Divya Rane and so she is a very material witness.
 It may be recalled that in a major setback to the Health Minister the North Goa Sessions Judge U V Bakre had dismissed the Criminal Appeal filed by Vishwajit Rane ruling that there was sufficient ground for proceeding against Vishwajit Rane under section 506 (ii) of Indian Penal Code there being prima facie evidence against the Health Minister.