The Supreme Court directed two of the accused who were booked under alleged crime of gambling racket in Kolhapur to surrender before police.
The accused had been absconding after Bombay High Court in April declined application to quash their prosecution under the
Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).
The Supreme Court will now consider whether the accused can be linked to MCOCA when there is nothing in the charge-sheet to link them to a ‘crime syndicate’.
The advocates for the accused have contended that the accused were not operating a ‘crime syndicate’ and hence it was not a group, therefore they should not be booked under the said Act.
The appellants submitted that ‘matka’ (activity in which accused were allegedly engaged) is not an organized crime but an individual activity, hence MCOCA should not be applied.
The other issue that SC will consider is, whether Additional Superintendent of Police can record confessions under MCOCA.
The proclamation has been issued against the accused and the matter has been posted for further hearings.