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Goa bar row: ‘No irregularities in issuance of licence’
The excise commissioner had issued a notice to late Anthony D’Gama in whose name the licence for the bar and restaurant was issued and subsequently renewed despite him having passed away.
PANAJI: There are no irregularities in issuance of licence to Silly Souls Bar and Restaurant in Goa, the D’Gama family that owns the premises told the state excise commissioner on Monday, and reiterated that their property was in no way linked to Union minister Smriti Irani’s family.
Goa excise commissioner Narayan Gad was hearing arguments over a complaint against a restaurant, which the Congress claimed was linked to Union minister Smriti Irani’s daughter. The excise commissioner had issued a notice to late Anthony D’Gama in whose name the licence for the bar and restaurant was issued and subsequently renewed despite him having passed away.
In their response, the family — represented by D’Gama’s widow Merlyn and son Dean (among other children) — said: “The licence was issued by the excise department after following the procedure as prescribed under law and there has been no illegality or irregularity or any omission on the part of the department or the respondents.”
Dean D’Gama was appointed as the lawful attorney by his father on March 24, 2017, Benny Nazareth, the family’s lawyer, told the excise commissioner.
“Representing Antony D’Gama, his son Dean had filed for and obtained the registration certificate for the premises under the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982. The application was applied for by Anthony D’Gama on April 15, 2021 and he was represented by Dean,” said Nazareth. “When the application for renewal was filed, Dean was the power of attorney holder and upon the death of his father (on May 17, 2021) automatically by operation of law became the administrator of the estate.”
However, complainant Aires Rodrigues, advocate and social activist, claimed that an excise licence is not an asset and “cannot be automatically inherited by the heirs of a deceased licence holder.”
After the hearing, Nazareth told reporters that the D’Gama family has “absolutely no connection” with Eightall Foods and Beverages LLP Goa, which is allegedly connected to Irani’s family.
When pointed out that Eightall shares its address with Silly Souls located at Assagao in North Goa, the lawyer said, “You will have to ask this question to Eightall Foods and Beverages LLP.”
The Union minister filed a civil defamation suit against three Congress leaders for linking her daughter’s name to the restaurant. The Delhi high court observed that Irani and her daughter are neither owners of the restaurant in Goa nor have they ever applied for the licence for food and beverages at the eatery, as alleged.
On June 29, Rodrigues filed a complaint alleging that the excise office in Mapusa illegally renewed the restaurant’s excise licence in the name of a deceased person, Anthony D’Gama.
During the first hearing of the complaint on July 29, the excise commissioner framed two issues for determination — whether the excise licence was obtained by Anthony D’Gama by submitting false, inadequate documents and by misrepresenting facts and whether there were procedural irregularities by excise officials.
