The Hindu : National : Supreme Court upholds MCOCA provisions

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Tuesday, Sep 02, 2008
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Supreme Court upholds MCOCA provisions

J. Venkatesan

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld certain provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) empowering the State to intercept telephones and using them as evidence in organised crimes, including terrorist acts.

A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice Mukundakam Sharma set aside a judgment of the Bombay High Court quashing these provisions in film financer Bharat Shah’s case.

The Bench agreed with the Maharashtra government’s contention that the power to tap telephones could be provided to the police for maintaining public order and in national and social interest. Since maintaining law and order was the responsibility of the State it could not be denied the right to enact a strong law to deal with terrorism and organised crimes and syndicates run by the underworld, Maharashtra had said. It defended inclusion of the provisions in MCOCA, giving the State police power to tap the telephones of any person on suspicion of involvement in the organised crimes.

The High Court had struck down Section 13 (appointment of competent authority), Section 14 (authorisation of interception of wire, electronic or oral communication), Section 15 (constitution of committee for review of authorisation orders) and Section 16 (prohibition of interception and disclosure of wire, electronic or oral communication) on the ground that the State had no constitutional right to enact a law on interception of telephones as the subject fell in the Central list.

Film financier Bharat Shah, charged under the controversial law for alleged links with the underworld, had challenged its constitutional validity. Besides Shah, others who had challenged the law were: Shamim Mirza Arif Beg, an alleged associate of Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel, and Sanjay Patil, accused of land grabbing and extortion.

A designated MCOCA court in Mumbai on October 1, 2003 had sentenced Shah to one-year imprisonment for concealing information from the police. The High Court had struck down the controversial provisions and the present appeal by the State was directed against this judgment.

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