BABANRAO TUKARAM RANJANE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant challenges the order of the Special Judge of the Bombay High Court rejecting his application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the Code) in C.R. No. 135 of 2002 registered at Bund Garden Police Station, Pune. The crime is one registered under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3(2), 3(5) and 24 of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the MCOCA). The crime was originally registered on 7-6-2002 against three accused. But, as the investigation progressed, several others were brought in as accused and ultimately as on the day of making the application before the Special Court, 65 persons have been arraigned as accused and shown as arrested. The appellant is accused No. 62. The appellant was arrested on 8-12-2003.

(3.) It may be stated that originally the case was being investigated by the Bombay Police. But considering the persons involved and the alleged connivance of some of the officials of the Bombay Police, this Court directed the handing over of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (hereinafter referred to as the CBI) and the CBI took up the investigation. It is submitted by the learned counsel appearing for the CBI that amended charge-sheets have been filed and he complained that framing of charges is being stalled by the accused by trotting out one reason or another. Thus, though the case was ultimately posted for framing of charges to 14-3-2006, the charges had not been framed by the time the hearing of the appeal was concluded.