Delhi court acquits 3 men of MCOCA charges in 2013 case, slams prosecution case

New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) A court here has acquitted three brothers of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) provisions, saying the Delhi Police failed to fulfil the legal provisions to invoke the act and prosecute them for committing organised crime.

Tearing to shreds the prosecution's case, the court also observed that merely giving a list of past cases against the accused does not establish the existence of a crime syndicate nor does it prove that an organised crime was committed.

Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala of the Karkardooma Court was hearing the case against Mohammed Iqbal Gazi, Mohammed Umar, Kamaluddin and Mohammed Jamal against whom the Seelampur police station had registered a case for committing organised crime under MCOCA provisions in 2013.

Gazi expired during the trial and proceedings against him were abated.

In its October 15 verdict, the court said according to law, the charge sheets had to explain which cases against the accused in the last 10 years were in the category of organised crime and also which case or incident was treated as continued unlawful activity to invoke MCOCA.

The final reports, however, were "completely silent" regarding the explanations and "these requirements were not probably realised by police, maybe on account of a different notion of law", the court said.

It said the sanction for the registration of FIR was given without satisfying that the requisite conditions to invoke MCOCA were fulfilled.

"In fact, the same is my finding with respect to sanction accorded for the prosecution of the accused persons, for the same reason that the sanctioning authority did not even check if all requisite conditions for invoking MCOCA were fulfilled. Hence, I have no second thoughts to say that all these sanctions were passed without due application of mind," the judge said.

The judge also rejected the prosecution's argument regarding the confession of the accused.

He said, "I am conscious of the law that confession made under Section 18 of the Act (MCOCA) is admissible in evidence. However, when this case was registered based on an invalid sanction, and when this case is found lacking fulfilling the requisite conditions to invoke MCOCA, then there cannot be any question of a confessional statement recorded in this case to be valid." The court said, "The prosecution has not satisfied the necessary legal ingredients to invoke and prosecute the accused persons for committing organised crime." Regarding the allegations against the accused persons including that of acquiring properties from the proceeds of organised crime, it said, "All these charges required that prosecution would have proved the existence of a crime syndicate and commission of organised crime. But merely by giving a list of past cases, neither the existence of a crime syndicate is proved nor the commission of organised crime stands proved." Merely making allegations that properties were acquired out of illegal business or acts cannot be sufficient, the court added.

It said the MCOCA Act does not refer to any property if acquired by the accused.

"It refers to the proceeds of organised crime, which requires proof of organised crime first. However, all these aspects are missing in this case," it said.

The court then acquitted Umar, Kamaluddin and Jamal, of all charges levelled against them. PTI MNR MNR KSS KSS