The South Goa Advocates Association (SGAA) has sought a pause in e-filing until necessary infrastructure and systems are put in place, while de ciding that its members will not shift to the newly constructed civil and crim inal court building until adequate parking arrange ments are made. The decisions were taken at an Extra Ordinary General Body Meeting on Monday. SGAA president Adv Anto nio Clovis da Costa said the main issue facing advocates was e-filing, with several lawyers experiencing dif ficulties even while regis tering themselves on the system. “Right now the body feels that the systems are not in place and it is very am bitious to go for e-filing straight away till all the issues are ironed out,” da Costa said.
He said registration was the first step and sever al lawyers were unable to complete it. “When the registration itself does not happen, you cannot go any step further. You cannot do any filing,” he said. He said court staff had not been adequately trained, while lawyers faced prob lems with internet connec tivity, Wi-Fi and scanners. The Association, he said, was not opposed to e-fil ing and welcomed it as the future of the legal system, but wanted it streamlined before being made compul sory. “We want the e-filing. But it has to be streamlined. It has to be done in a proper man ner,” he said. The SGAA will represent to the Principal District Judge seeking physical fil ing alongside e-filing until technical difficulties are re solved.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
On the new civil and crim inal court building in Mar gao, da Costa said it had been approved with park ing for only 18 cars despite nine courts being proposed there. He said the existing court sees more than 200-300 cars daily and warned that the new building, barely 10 to 15 metres from the Old Market junction, could cre ate serious traffic problems. “It is not only going to be a mess for the lawyers, liti gants and the court staff but for the general public also,” he said. The SGAA has decided not to shift to the new build ing until adequate parking arrangements are made for advocates, litigants and staff before the shift begins at the court premises. Da Costa said the Association would make a representa tion to the High Court.
He said the Association had raised the need for addi tional parking in 2021. A file for acquiring land be hind the existing court re mained pending with the Deputy Collector or Collec tor for more than four to five years. “We don’t want to go from the pen into the fire,” da Costa said, insisting that parking for at least 200 cars should be made before ad vocates shift. The SGAA also discussed the recent alleged assault of an advocate involving Sanguem Police. Da Costa said the Association did not want to take a position on who was right or wrong without examining the en tire incident.
He said the SGAA would apply under the Right to In formation Act for the CCTV footage and examine it be fore deciding its course of action. “If there is no CCTV foot age, we are going to file a contempt petition against the Sanguem Police before the Honourable Supreme Court,” he said, referring to the Supreme Court’s di rections concerning CCTV cameras in police stations. Asked about the conduct of lawyers seen in a video cir culating on social media, da Costa declined to comment until the complete incident was examined. “Unless we see the entire incident, I don’t think it would be right for us to comment on the incident,” he said, adding that the Association would decide after examining the CCTV footage. The Association said it remained committed to raising issues affecting the legal fraternity and ensur ing adequate facilities for justice.
