Manohar Parrikar has been recuperating at his home since he was discharged from AIIMS, Delhi, in October.The Goa government on Thursday sought one more day from the High Court to respond to a petition seeking to know the health status of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Justices R M Borde and Prithviraj K Chavan had given relief to the government earlier this week after it said that the Chief Secretary had to read and sign the response. The government counsel Thursday appealed for more time, saying that the Chief Secretary was in office only in the evening and will require another day to respond.
Justice Borde has now asked the government to respond to the petitioner by Friday, and the matter will be kept for arguments on December 11.
The Chief Secretary was in Portugal with a few ministers to study water management and returned on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, Advocate Rohit Braz Dsa said the matter was initially fixed for November 26, then moved to December 4, and now December 6. “If they do not file a reply, I will be satisfied personally that in fact they have nothing to say to my petition and they admit to the contents of my petition,” he said.
The court is hearing a petition filed by local politician and former Goa Forward member Trajano D’Mello, who had sought a health bulletin from the government, stating that Parrikar has not been seen in public for months and there are doubts on the status of administration.
In his petition, Trajano told the court, “It’s been reported that Manohar Parrikar is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer,” adding that he fears the administrative decisions are not the Chief Minister’s alone anymore.
