Former Minister for Rural Development, Francisco Pacheco, currently serving time in jail for slapping a Junior Engineer of the electricity department, may get a pardon, if the State Government has its way.
The controversial former Minister — who is also facing cases of bigamy, extortion assault, human trafficking, money laundering — evaded custody for two months after the Supreme Court rejected his plea against his conviction before he finally surrendered before the trial court in South Goa and was incarcerated on June 1.
Barely five weeks later, the ruling BJP Government, with Pacheco’s party — the two- member Goa Vikas Party — which is lending support to the ruling Government, is considering pardoning him entirely and allowing him attend the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Goa legislative Assembly.
Chief secretary RK Srivastava confirmed that his office was in recipt of the petition for pardon and that it was being ‘examined’. He however refused to comment further. “We have received (the petition). I am examining,” Srivastava said.
The petition was filed by Pachecho’s companion Viola Pacheco before the office of the Governor, who said that his kids were ‘traumatised’ by his incarceration, and that injustice was meted out to him and he hence deserved pardon.
Article 161 of the Indian Constitution allows the Governor of a state the power to “grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends”.