Team Herald
PANJIM: The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Panjim has postponed hearing into a cheating case to June 12 after Union Minister Shripad Naik sought time to depose as a witness in the case.
Naik was summoned to appear on Monday at 10 am in a cheating case filed by a job seeker against Vinod Desai who had claimed to be working in the office of the union minister at Sao Pedro in 2014. Naik sent a written application seeking another date citing that he had to remain in Delhi for work related to his Ministry. Naik is inducted in the Narendra Modi-led cabinet as Minister of State for Defence and Minister of State (independent) for AYUSH.
As per the complaint, Desai had promised Mervin Fernandes of Merces a government job at the State Secretariat on payment of Rs 6 lakh and had taken an advance of Rs 2 lakh.
Having failed to secure the job, Advocate Aires Rodrigues, who is representing Fernandes said that the complainant demanded a refund of the amount paid and after repeated reminders Desai on June 28, 2017 issued Fernandes a cheque of Rs 1 lakh as part refund but it bounced.
On September 20, 2018 Fernandes lodged a complaint at the Old Goa Police Station and Desai on being summoned handed over a cheque of Rs 3 lakh as full and final settlement but that cheque also bounced after which the Old Goa Police on September 25 registered an FIR.
In November 2018 Fernandes represented by Adv Rodrigues initiated criminal proceedings for cheque bouncing against Desai before the local court.
