[MCOCA] Those helping organised group before or after offence considered part of crime syndicate: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court in a recent order said that offences under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) are different from the regular crimes and any person helping an organised group either before or after an offence is committed would be considered as having been a member of the crime syndicate [Rajendra Patole vs State of Maharashtra]..A bench of Justices Prasanna B Varale and SM Modak, therefore, refused to quash a first information report (FIR) filed against one Rajendra Patole, who allegedly helped the members of an organised group to evade arrest and gave shelter to them at his native place. The Bench said that the MCOCA is a law enacted to prevent and control an organised crime. "Organized crime is different from regular crime. If for gaining pecuniary benefits, economic/other advantage unlawful activity is continued it is an organized crime. It must be undertaken on behalf of the organized crime syndicate, whose members are involved in criminal activity, which has become their source of livelihood," the bench said. "Normal criminal law is not sufficient to control the activities," the Court added..As per Patole, he was named as a co-accused in a rioting case where multiple persons were seriously injured in the rift that took place at Mumbai's Mankhurd area over a slum redevelopment project. He claimed that he was not initially named as an accused in the FIR filed in August 2021. In his petition, Patole pointed out that the police acted malafide as he was never named in the offence and was given pre-arrest bail by a sessions court in the city. However, just before the day his pre-arrest bail was to be confirmed, the Mumbai Police granted approval and subsequent sanction to prosecute him and other accused for charges of the stringent MCOCA.Patole argued that he was not even present at the spot of the incident and he could at the most be booked for harboring the accused since he had given shelter to some of them at his native place in Satara district..Considering the submissions, the Bench said that in cases under MCOCA it is not necessary that every time same set of accused will commit the crime. "There may be new accused or combination of old and new participants. What is important is all these offences are connected through the web of organized crime syndicate," the Court observed. Patole, the Court said, had assisted other accused."Present Petitioner assisted the arrested accused in committing the offence. Helping them to run, to take shelter attracts invocation of Indian Penal Code (IPC). In that manner, the Petitioner has become member of that crime syndicate," the bench held in its March 28 order. .It is not always necessary that every accused must be present on the spot.Bombay High Court .The Bench, however, noted that Patole helped the accused in the case in many ways including to evade arrest, and provided shelter to the absconding accused and even bore the expenses of house of the accused.It observed that he had even offered his car for helping the assailants to run away."It is not always necessary that every accused must be present on the spot. There are various circumstances in the chain of circumstances. In that chain, it may happen that set of accused persons may be present at the spot, some of the accused have played a role prior to commission of offence and some of them have participated post commission of offence," the Court said.It, therefore, rejected the plea..[Read Judgment]