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Shivaji Statue Showdown: Raps Goa Police, Orders Escort for Port's Demolition Drive
In a stern rebuke to Goa's law enforcement, the has directed state police to provide armed security to the for dismantling an illegally erected statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on its prime land at Sada Junction. The bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit S. Jamsandekar , in Writ Petition No. 511 of 2026, slammed authorities for "" and possible "" amid involvement by local MLA Sankalp Amonkar, rejecting pleas to leave the port to its own devices.
Roots of the Ruckus: Denied NOC Sparks Nighttime Takeover
The saga began in when Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar sought a from MPA via Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for a 377 sq.m. Shivaji statue at Headland Sada Junction—port-owned Chalta No. 42, PT Sheet 30, Vasco-da-Gama. MPA's Chairperson denied it on , citing Ministry of Ports' land policy barring religious or political allotments.
Fast-forward to : Unknown persons trespassed, erecting the statue on a temporary pedestal amid a former garbage dump. MPA complained to , , and officials, warning of law-and-order risks if intervened. Despite pleas, no action followed. On , Amonkar led a 200-strong crowd—including councilors and chairman—for a lavish unveiling, complete with speeches defying FIRs or court petitions. Nighttime paving and tiling continued, prompting MPA's WP filing on (heard from ).
Port's Outrage vs State's Shrug: Clash in Courtroom
MPA's Arsenal
: Trespass under
(
), public premises violation under
. Highlighted video evidence of Amonkar boasting,
"even if FIR filed... we have erected it,"
plaque crediting him, and police inaction despite alerts. Demanded police aid to halt works, remove structure.
State's Defense : Invoke for Estate Officer remedies; MPA has for security; no FIR needed as preliminary inquiry (28 statements) ongoing under . Locals cleared "public" dump; lacks jurisdiction per (port assets exclude local regs). Civil suit option open. Cited precedents like (no role on port land).
echoed: No jurisdiction over MPA land.
Piercing the Veil: Why Court Rejected 'Hands-Off' alibis
The bench dissected the timeline, noting police's own alert on "" yet no under or magistrate deployment. Unveiling amid WP notice screamed complicity. excludes municipal regs but doesn't absolve state police from trespass duty—especially by named politicians.
PPA remedies? Impractical against "unknown" builders; doesn't cover immediate law-order threats.
argument dismissed:
"The State cannot be heard to say... free to use Central Forces... would the State take the same arguments [for] Airport Authority?"
Precedents like
affirmed port autonomy but not state abdication.
As media reports noted, the court rejected state pleas outright:
"Where issues of law and order are involved... it is only the State through its agencies... can adequately quell such incidents."
Bench Bites Back: Quotes That Sting
-
On Inaction :
"It is absolutely unbelievable... such a large gathering could have been allowed on the Port land... without any knowledge of the Police Inspector... If this be so, there is a complete failure of the executive structure."
-
Tacit Support :
"The incident points more to a glaring and or arrangements between the authorities... and the local MLA."
-
State Duty :
"The State has acted as a mere bystander and has in fact with the perpetrators of the invasion without offering any assistance."
-
Remedy Limits :
"Proceedings under ... is not a remedy [for unknown persons]... even if such remedy exists... it would still not absolve the State from effectively intervening."
Gavel Falls: Cops on Call, Statue on Clock
Interim Orders () : (impleaded R6), , , PIs to furnish "adequate armed security" and prohibitory measures. MPA to remove statue, pedestal, paving by ; SP to report compliance. MLA Amonkar impleaded as R7. Matter relisted for jurisdiction, inaction probe.
Implications? Reinforces constitutional writs compelling police protection for statutory bodies against political trespass, bypassing specialized laws where breach-of-peace looms. Ports nationwide gain ammo against encroachments; signals zero tolerance for "tacit" official nods to illegality.
