Jos Peter D'Souza, a counsel representing Placido Carvalho, one of the two accused in the Scarlett case, has said that Judge Paul Sherin Gerturde, who is hearing the case, has no powers to do so.
Defence counsel in British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling case has moved an application before a court here stating that the current judge holding the trial has no powers to do so.
Jos Peter D'Souza, a counsel representing Placido Carvalho, one of the two accused in the Scarlett case, has said that Judge Paul Sherin Gerturde, who is hearing the case, has no powers to do so.
"The president of the Children's Court can be a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge. In the circumstances it is respectfully submitted that appointment to post of president Children’s Court is ultra vires the provisions of section 28 of the Goa Children Act 2003 and has no powers to act under the said Act," advocate D’Souza said in his application before the Court yesterday.
He said the current judge has no powers to hold the trial as she is an assistant session judge rank. Gerturde is the fourth judge to hear the case, the trial of which had begun on April 5, 2010. She began hearing the case since April 27, 2011 replacing Justice BP Deshpande.
The Scarlett death trial is ridden with hurdles as on earlier occasion, Special Prosecutor SR Rivonkar representing the state had preferred to recuse himself.
Mumbai-based lawyer E Khan took over the trial. The trial which was supposed to end by December 2010 has examined only 15 out of 72 witnesses related to the death of the British teenager whose corpse was found on Anjuna shore on February 18, 2008.
Fiona Mackeown, mother of the deceased, was amongst those who gave their testimony before the court. She had also dragged the name of home minister Ravi Naik's son Roy into the case.
Scarlet's bruised semi-nude corpse was found on the Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008.
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