It's embarrassing to have convicted minister, says Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar

PANAJI: Two days after the state minister Fransisco Miccky Pacheco's conviction in an assault case was upheld by the Supreme Court, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today said it was an embarrassing situation.

When asked whether it was embarrassing to have a convicted minister in the cabinet, the Chief Minister said, "Obviously! It is natural."

Pacheco, whose conviction for slapping a government official was upheld by the Supreme Court, is currently in Delhi, and Parsekar said he was waiting for the minister's return before taking any decision.

"I can't take decision in his absence. But I will respect the Supreme Court and take the decision accordingly," he said, when asked whether the minister would be dropped.

Pacheco, a Goa Vikas Party legislator, was inducted in the state cabinet last November after the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar resigned (to join the union cabinet) and Parsekar replaced him.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices F M I Kalifulla and Shiva Kirti Singh yesterday dismissed the special leave petition filed by Pacheco against the High Court verdict which upheld the sentence of six-month imprisonment.

An FIR for assault was lodged on July 15, 2006 by Kapil Natekar, a junior engineer of the government's Electrical Department, against Pacheco who was a minister then too.

It alleged that Pacheco abused and slapped Natekar in his chamber after summoning him over for not attending the telephone call of the minister's personal assistant.

A judicial magistrate at Margao convicted Pacheco and sentenced him to one-year jail term and a fine of Rs 5,000. Appellate court reduced the jail term to six months and the fine to Rs 1,500. Upon revision plea, the sentence was set aside and he was released on 'admonition' under Probation of Offenders' Act, but the HC overturned this ruling.