Polls in five more comunidades must be filmed, says HC

PANAJI: In view of the ruckus at the Serula comunidade elections, the high court of Bombay at Goa has directed that the elections to the comunidades of Usgao, Nerul, Advalpal, Sirsaim and Sancoale scheduled for February 17 be also video recorded “so that such incidents do not repeat or, in any case, if such incidents take place, they are dealt with with firm hand”.

The court also asked for full and effective investigations to be undertaken and for police authorities to ensure that proper action is taken against those who disrupted the election process in these comunidades through extra legal means as a result of which they had to be postponed. The court asked for status regarding action be placed on record at the next hearing.

On January 27, the Serula comunidade election was disrupted by a panel after it was announced that it had lost the post of the president. In its order passed by the division bench comprising Justices Mahesh Sonak and Prithviraj K Chavan, the court stated “If such instances are allowed to rise, then democracy will degenerate into mobocracy”. It stated that the seriousness of the Serula election case is aggravated by the fact that five elections to the managing committees of the comunidades in North Zone “had to be postponed for similar reasons of commotion, chaos and law and order situation”.