The Delhi Police was pulled up by a city court for invoking stringent provision of Maharashtra Control Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against suspended Rajasthan cricketers S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, and 25 bookies allegedly involved in the IPl spot-fixing scandal.
While slamming the Delhi Police, Additional Session Judge (ASJ) Vinay Kumar Khanna said, “The police officer, who is of the rank of Additional Commissioner of Police, is required to apply his mind before invoking the MCOCA and it should so reflect in the approval order."
The court, in its 25-page order said that the Delhi Police has misused stringent provisions of the MCOCA. "The court hearing the bail applications has to guard against it (misuse) and has to perform a profound role of 'gate keeping' and as a guardian the court cannot sit as a mute spectator and accept the story of prosecution as a 'gospel truth'," said Khanna.
While pulling up the police, the judge also said, "In my view, such order (invoking MCOCA) requires to be a speaking order and should at least refer or specify the material on record, which was considered by him. Approval under Section 23(1) (a) MCOCA should not be a mere formality."
Delhi Police had invoked MCOCA against Sreesanth, his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and other 25 accused. It alleged Sreesanth and others were in contact with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel. However, the court said, "None of the applicants (Sreeshath and others) were in touch with Salman, a bookie of Pakistan, or with Javed Chutani, Dawood or Chhota Shakeel.
"On probing deeper, the material pointed out by the prosecution, prima facie, it cannot be observed that the applicants are members of an organised crime syndicate. There is no satisfactory material on record to indicate any nexus of the accused with the 'underworld' or any organised crime syndicate and on the basis of mere conjecture and surmises, no such link between the accused and the alleged hardcore criminals can be inferred," the court said.