JUDGE REIS SEEKS TIME TO TRACE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ADV. AIRES

PANJIM: Bombay High Court at Goa Justice F.M.Reis today sought time to trace how he was related to Adv. Aires Rodrigues.  Inview of this a division Bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa comprising of Justice S.B.Deshmukh and Justice F.M.Reis today adjourned to Feb 16th the petition filed by the Goa Cricket

Association (GCA) challenging the order of the Goa State Information Commission which had ruled that the GCA comes under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

At the last hearing Adv. Aires Rodrigues submitted to the court that Justice F.M.Reis was related to him. Adv. Rodrigues told the court that he had to inform the court about this inview of the highest standards of professional ethics and propriety that needs to be maintained in the legal profession.

The State Chief Information Commissioner Mr. Motilal Keny had on October 7th last year in a 23 page landmark judgment directed the Goa Cricket Information to furnish Adv. Aires Rodrigues the information sought by him on the fees paid by the GCA to its lawyer Mr. Subodh Kantak.

After Adv. Aires Rodrigues sought information from the Goa Cricket Association on the fees paid to their lawyer Mr. Subodh Kantak, the Goa Cricket Association which is headed by Goa’s former Law Minister Mr. Dayanand Narvekar took a stand that it does not come under the purview of the RTI Act.

The Goa Cricket Association claimed that the Right to Information Act was not applicable to it as it had not received any financial or other assistance from the Goa Government or the Sports Authority of Goa.

However Adv. Aires Rodrigues submitted documentary proof to the effect that the Goa Government besides financial and other assistance had also granted to the Goa Cricket Association on a 99 year lease land admeasuring 1,30,328 sq meters at Tivim for the construction of a cricket stadium at a nominal rent of Rs 50,000/- per year.