FRANCISCO CASIMIRO JERONIMO AGNELO PINTO ESOUZA, ALIAS FRANCSI DE SOUZA, OF FULL AGE ADVOCATE RESIDING AT ONSABATTA MAPUSA, GOA Vs. STATE OF GOA AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a member of the Comunidade of Mapusa. He has challenged in this Writ Petition the appointment of respondent No. 5 as the President of the Managing Committee of the Comunidade of Mapusa for the triennium 1989-1991.

(2.) Broadly speaking Comunidade is an institution which traditionally regulates local community groups in Goa. The Code of Comunidades, 1961 governs the constitution of such Comunidades and the rights and responsibilities of its members Under Article 3 of the Code of Comunidades each Comunidade is composed of a) 'Jonoeiros". b) Shareholders; c) Jonoeiros and share-holders; and d) Sharers. 'Jonoeiros' are approximately, founders of the communities who have a share in the land and its produce by birth and their rights are heritable as per the provisions of the Code. The share-holders have rights to the produce of the community by virtue of their holding certain shares which are transferable, in the Comunidade of Mapusa there are only "Jonoeiros" and no other category of members.

(3.) Under Article 28 of the Code of Comunidades certain persons are not allowed to take part m the decisions of the Comunidades. These include (1) Non-emancipated minors who, however, can act through their legal representatives: (2) The debtors of the Comunidade; (3) Those who have instituted suits against the Communidade, as regards a matter pertaining to the same suits, (4) foreigners, and so on. Under Article 29 of the Code it is provided as follows:-