Case Note & Summary
The State of Maharashtra, through the Ambarnath Police Station, filed an appeal under Section 12 of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOC Act) against an order dated 26 July 2023 passed by the learned Special Judge (under the MCOC Act), Thane. The impugned order was passed below a remand report in C.R. No. 461 of 2022 registered with the Ambarnath Police Station, Thane. The Special Judge had refused police custody of the respondent-accused, Kasim @ Talaf Muktar Irani, on the ground that he was already arrested in an earlier MCOC case. The State argued that the present crime was distinct and different from the earlier MCOC case, and therefore police custody could not be refused on that basis. The High Court, after hearing the parties and perusing the papers, noted that the respondent-accused had refused to accept notice of the appeal. The Court observed that the Special Judge's reasoning was unsustainable in law. The Court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Special Judge for fresh consideration of the remand report, directing that the application for police custody be decided on its own merits without being influenced by the fact that the accused was arrested in another MCOC case. The appeal was allowed accordingly.
Headnote
A) Criminal Procedure - Police Custody - MCOC Act - Section 12 of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 - The State appealed against the order of the Special Judge refusing police custody of the accused in a second MCOC case on the ground that the accused was already arrested in an earlier MCOC case. The High Court held that police custody cannot be refused merely because the accused was arrested in another MCOC case when the present crime is distinct and different. The impugned order was set aside and the matter remanded for fresh consideration. (Paras 1-8)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the Special Judge under the MCOC Act could refuse police custody of the accused in a second MCOC case merely because the accused was already arrested in an earlier MCOC case, when the present crime is distinct and different.
Final Decision
The appeal is allowed. The impugned order dated 26 July 2023 passed by the learned Special Judge (under the MCOC Act), Thane, is set aside. The matter is remanded to the Special Judge for fresh consideration of the remand report dated 26 July 2023 in C.R. No. 461 of 2022. The Special Judge is directed to decide the application for police custody on its own merits, uninfluenced by the fact that the accused was arrested in another MCOC case.
Law Points
- Police custody
- MCOC Act
- distinct crimes
- remand
- investigation
