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Time of India

Being part of crime ring must to invoke MCOCA, rules court

1 2 Nagpur: A designated special court in Chandrapur in a detailed judgment recently ruled that mere involvement in criminal activity does not fall under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) unless the accused is proven to be a member of an organised crime syndicate. Special Judge AD Deo acquitted all 17 accused in a liquor smuggling and murder case, citing insufficient evidence to establish their membership or nexus with any crime syndicate. They were instructed to furnish bonds of Rs 50,000 each in the event the prosecution approached the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. The case pertains to an incident involving alleged liquor smuggling by a group operating in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts on November 6, 2018 when strict prohibition was in force in both the districts. During an attempted police interception, a white SUV carrying the contraband reportedly ran over and killed a police sub inspector, leading to the filing of charges of murder and provisions under MCOCA were invoked against all the accused. They challenged their arrest in the MCOCA court through counsels Amol Jaltare and others. The accused had been undertrial for nearly five years, with some granted bail during the proceedings. The court noted that the "lynchpin of the offence of organised crime is the nexus with organised crime syndicate." Judge Deo added, "It is membership of such a syndicate that makes a person liable under MCOCA." The court emphasised that in the present case, there was no evidence from past criminal records of the petitioners or from the FIR and charge sheet to support the prosecution's claim of organised crime. While reiterating established legal principles, the court stated, "The prosecution must establish accused's involvement in past offences while invoking MCOCA but also prove that such offences were committed using coercion or other unlawful means with the objective to gain pecuniary benefits, obtain undue economic or other advantages, or promote insurgency. " Despite the trial involving over 50 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits, the prosecution failed to establish that the accused were part of an organised crime syndicate or continuing unlawful activity with the required intent under MCOCA.