NESHWIN ALMEIDA
neshwin@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: The Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Bill was the landmark bill to be pushed in this Assembly session which some lawyers feel was the Goa government’s last chance to get this bill passed before the State goes to the polls next year.
A bill since 2012 which was stuck before a select committee, law commission and tabled for expert opinion of various judges and lawyers has finally replaced the age old trusted Portuguese civil code of 1867 which was adopted by Goa post Liberation in 1961 but which was unique in its own ways and was the only law that gave equal rights towards property to men and women.
“Basically the law is nothing but the Portuguese law now officially presented to the state in English. The previous law was old and outdated and has undergone changes in Portugal itself, so it’s a good thing that issues of inheritance and possession are revisited keeping development in mind. But not much can be said until we read the entire law in verbatim,” exclaimed advocate and law professor Cleofato Almeida Coutinho.
Coutinho believes that inheritance to parents and giving up rights of heritance had some technicalities and glitches in the existing law that stalls development in many ways and hence, changes were the need of the hour. He also says that inheritance and succession should be treated as a normal suit in the court and not an inventory matter.
But Jesito Colaco, who comes from a family of four generations of lawyers and experts in matter of inventory proceedings, asserts that the current government has been pushing for this legislation since 2012 but there are lots of errors and vested interests in the new law that don’t protect the interest of Goans who own lands here and are abroad.
“Firstly succession and inventory proceedings in the new law have been reduced to 30 years from the time of death of the owners of the land. In South Goa especially from Canacona to Margao, many people own lands and have inherited them from their forefathers and hence the law would be unjust to them,” explains Advocate Colaco.
He’s also wary of the new law of succession not protecting the ownership rights of Goans holding Portuguese passports or living in foreign lands and fears that the criteria of who’s in possession of the land can be a misused clause.
“In 2012, we’ve opposed the bill and it has gone to the select committee. Then we opposed the bill being passed on the assurance of amendments later. I hope all our recommendations are considered or people which vested interest will misuse this law for the destruction of Goa,” he said.
Similarly another lawyer who doesn’t want to be named asserted that the new law could an aftermath of a backdoor deal with lobbies who are looking at taking possession of disputed lands that are in their possession from their other family members and tenants. Lawyers are wary that the new law could be draconian and the government and officials will misuse the law.
“Many old Goan houses are falling apart since husband and wife as land owners have no absolute right over their inheritance and possession and then a random family member stalls sales and development of the property. So these things need to be rectified and hence I welcome the new law though, I have my concerns on the Goa Assembly’s right to introduce this bill,” the lawyer said.
Noted lawyer and politician Radharao Gracias revisited Goa in the 1960s and explained that the Uniform Civil Code was passed by the Portugal Central government and pass over to the Indian government to adopt in Goa post-liberation.
“The question is whether the State government in Goa has the right to introduce and pass The Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Bill since it’s a prerogative of the Union Government, Lok Sabha, to pass the same law since it was given by Lisbon to India and not Goa per se. The legalities of this law need to be seen,” asserted Gracias.
