PANAJI: Goa Lokayukta justice (retd) Ambadas Joshi has submitted a special report to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, informing him that chief minister Pramod Sawant’s government has refused to register an FIR against Cumbarjua BJP MLA and former minister Pandurang Madkaikar for constructing a bungalow valued at Rs 200 crore, disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The report has been made to the governor “for action as deemed appropriate” Joshi has drawn the attention of the governor that Sawant has not given reasons or justification for not accepting the Lokayukta’s report directing that an FIR be registered against Madkaikar on the basis of the complaint filed by advocate Aires Rodrigues.
Rodrigues had highlighted that in his income tax returns for the financial year 2015-16, Madkaikar had shown his total income for the year as a mere Rs 1,44,389, and that of his wife Janita, a paltry sum of Rs 24,389, and that they had loans.
Madkaikar was a minister in the past in the Congress government, and until 2019, power minister in the Manohar Parrikar government before he fell ill.
On September 15 last year, Joshi’s predecessor, justice (retd) P K Misra, in a 15-page order, directed the chief secretary and anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to register an FIR against Madkaikar.
Misra also observed that the then chief secretary, Dharmendra Sharma, and former superintendent of police Priyanka Kashyap had entirely failed in discharging their duties in accordance with law.
The former Lokayukta had also directed that suo motu proceedings be initiated against Kashyap for gross dereliction of duty.
Misra, in his order, had also censured Parrikar.
“It is crystal-clear that the then CM avoided the responsibility because (Madkaikar) was a serving minister and MLA belonging to the ruling party,” Misra had observed.
Rodrigues had filed a complaint with ACB against Madkaikar and followed it up with a complaint with the Lokayukta in June 2018.
Rodrigues, in his complaint, had demanded that ACB register an FIR under Sections 13(1) (d) & (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 120-B of Indian Penal Code against Madkaikar and his wife Janita, the sarpanch of Old Goa.