Pune: A special court in the city convicted Sameer Hajju Pathan and Rahul Gajendra Kamble for robbery with use of a deadly weapon and sentenced them to seven years’ imprisonment, but acquitted them of the charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), observing that the existence of an organised crime syndicate is a prerequisite for invoking the law.On April 30, 2018, around 10.30 pm, a civil engineering student was robbed of her gold chain near Ratnadeep housing society in Erandwane, Pune. Two men on a motorcycle snatched the chain after asking for directions and, when she resisted, assaulted her with a sharp-edged weapon before fleeing.The court convicted the two under sections 394 and 397 read with 34 of the IPC. However, having been remanded in custody since Aug 2018, they were directed to be released after a set-off of their term served. A third accused was acquitted of all charges for lack of evidence linking him to the robbery.The prosecution invoked MCOCA citing multiple prior cases against the accused, the court rejected the organised crime angle after examining the statutory requirements under the law.The court observed, “Mere having criminal antecedents or existence of commonality of the accused in some of those crimes will not be sufficient, in absence of existence of ‘organised crime syndicate’ to prosecute them for the offences under MCOC Act.”Explaining the legal threshold, the court said the existence of an “organised crime syndicate” is a prerequisite for invoking MCOCA, and cannot be presumed merely because multiple charge sheets exist against the accused.
