Shaikh Mujahid Abdul Majid And ... vs The State Of Maharashtra And ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 432 Bom

                                                        958-CriWP_-1227-2021
                                      -1-

            IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                        BENCH AT AURANGABAD

              958 CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 1227 OF 2021

                SHAIKH MUJAHID ABDUL MAJID AND OTHERS
                                VERSUS
                 THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS

                                       .....
                  Advocate for Petitioners : Ms. Gore Nikita N.
                 APP for Respondent-State : Mr. M. M. Nerlikar
                                       .....

                                CORAM : V. K. JADHAV AND
                                        SANDIPKUMAR. C. MORE, JJ.

DATED : 12th JANUARY, 2022

PER COURT:-

1. Learned APP submits that a proposal was submitted on

22.02.2019 to the Superintendent of Police, Ahmednagar for invoking

the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act,

1999 (for short, "MCOCA") against the members of the anda gang.

However, the Superintendent of Police, Ahmednagar by order dated

01.04.2019 has returned the said proposal by observing certain

deficiencies. Learned APP submits that thereafter, the proposal was

finally dropped for the reason that those deficiencies cannot be cured.

2. Learned APP has placed before us a chart indicating that

though there are cases against the members of the anda gang,

958-CriWP_-1227-2021

registered at various police stations, however, in most of the cases the

members of the said gang came to be acquitted in connection with

those cases.

3. We have carefully gone through the said chart. It appears that

there are near about sixteen cases against Samad Khan Wahab Khan,

who is the gang leader. There are eight cases against one Jaiyad

Rashid Sayed @ Taypya, four cases against Mudassar Ajij Khan @

Kallu and five cases against Sameer Jafar Khan @ Sam. Learned APP

has no record to indicate as to for what reason the court has acquitted

the gang leader and the members of the said gang. It is well settled

that if such accused persons came to be acquitted by the court for the

reason that certain witnesses have turned hostile, then, the accused

persons, if any proposal is sent under the provisions of the MCOCA,

cannot take advantage of the said acquittal and even also for the

proposal for detention.

4. We request learned APP to file an affidavit-in-reply till the next

date of hearing along with copies of the judgments in all those cases

wherein the gang leader and the members of the said gang came to be

acquitted by the Court.

958-CriWP_-1227-2021

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the District

Level Police Complaint Authority, Nasik Division, Nasik, by order

dated 29.08.2019, has made the observations in respect of this gang

that the matter is required to be inquired into by the State Police

Complaint Authority, Mumbai, because the action as well as the

inaction on the part of the Superintendent of Police, Ahmednagar is

necessarily the subject matter of complaint alongwith the action and

inaction on the part of Police Inspector, Bhingar Camp Police Station,

Ahmednagar. The District Level Police Complaint Authority, Nasik

Division Nasik has inquired into the allegations made in the complaint

dated 17.04.2018 made by the President of Peace Foundation by

name Harshad Shaikh, who is an architect by profession, and the

complaint is supported by 172 other persons whose signatures are

annexed with the complaint. There are similar allegations against the

members of the organized criminals known as anda gang of which

Samad Khan is the leader and accordingly, the District Level Police

Complaint Authority, Nasik Division, Nasik has made the said

observations.

6. Prima facie, it appears that despite the record available and also

the opinion expressed by the Chairperson of the District Level Police

Complaint Authority, Nasik Division, Nasik, who is the retired District

958-CriWP_-1227-2021

and Sessions Judge, no action has been taken so far by the

Superintendent of Police and even though the concerned Police

Inspector of Bhingar Camp Police Station has submitted the proposal

for action against the gang leader and the members of the anda gang

under the provisions of the MCOCA, the Superintendent of Police,

Ahmednagar has returned the said proposal with a brief note about

the deficiencies. We expect from the learned APP to make available

all the relevant record along with the copies of the judgments and

orders of acquittal passed against the members of the said gang and

its leader.

7. Learned APP, at this stage, submits that even the detention

orders have been passed against the gang leader Samad Khan and

some of the gang members on 15.07.2019 and onwards. However, so

far as this petition is concerned, we are mainly concerned with the

application of the provisions of MCOCA.

8. Stand over to 02.02.2022.

 (SANDIPKUMAR C. MORE, J.)                           (V. K. JADHAV, J.)



 vre