DINESH MAHADEV BHONDVE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This common Judgment will dispose of all the three cognate appeals.

(2.) The foremost Appeal No. 1212 of 2004 is filed by the accused No. 4 (Dinesh Mahadeo Bondve). The following Appeal No. 1374 of 2004 is filed by accused No. 3 (Vishal Parshuram Sunake) and the last Appeal No. 24 of 2005 is filed by accused No. 1 (Kishan Nathu Pardeshi). The appellants along with other three accused were tried simpliciter for offences punishable under sections 3 (l) (i) , 3 (l) (ii) , 3 (2) and 3 (4) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime act, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as MCOCA). The trial Court by the impugned judgment and order in these appeals, dated 11th August, 2004, acquitted accused nos. 2, 5 and 6 of all the charges. Insofar as the appellants (accused Nos. 1, 3 and 4) are concerned, they have been acquitted of offence punishable under section 3 (1) (i) and 3 (2) of the MCOCA. However, these appellants (accused Nos. 1, 3 and 4) have been found guilty of offences punishable under section 3 (l) (ii) and 3 (4) of the MCOCA. For each of these offences, the appellants have been ordered to undergo sentence for 5 years and pay a fine of Rs. 5,00,000/- each on each count, in default to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for 1 year on each count. The trial Court has however, directed the substantive sentences to run concurrently.

(3.) The prosecution case is that, a complaint of one Pujari of Kamshel was received in police station Vadgaon-Maval, which was registered as C. R. No. 95 of 2001, for offences punishable under section 387 read with section 34 of the indian Penal Code. The said offence was registered against accused No. 1 and others. In connection with the said offence, an inquiry was commenced. During such inquiry, it transpired that several criminal cases of serious offences were registered against the accused No. 1 in the past. On inquiries with police station of Lonavla city, Lonavla Rural, Yerawada and also Vadgaon-Maval, it was revealed that there were as many as 23 offences registered against the accused no. 1 and his henchmen. All these offences pertained to offences affecting human body or offences against property under Chapter XVI and XVII of the indian Penal Code. It also transpired that the accused No. 1 was the head of a gang which was indulging in such offences in the past. The accused No. 1 himself and with the help of his associates, was indulging in those offences in the concerned areas for quite sometime. As it was revealed that more than one charge sheets have been filed before the competent local Courts within the prescribed period of 10 years against the accused No. 1 and his associates in relation to cognisable offences punishable with imprisonment of 3 years or more undertaken either singly or jointly as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate and the concerned Courts have had taken cognisance of such offences and more so that the said continuing unlawful activities were carried out by use of violence or threat of violence with the objective of gaining pecuniary benefits or gaining undue economic advantage for the accused No. 1 himself as well as for his associates, the concerned Police Officer Vijay Kumar Bhoite (PW 1) prepared a report dated 30th October, 2001 addressed to the Special I. G. Kolhapur Range for seeking approval to register offence under the stated provisions of the MCOCA, as was required in terms of section 23 (1) (a) of that act. The said report Exhibit 21 is quite exhaustive- as it refers to every singular criminal case against the respective accused. Most of the cases are covered by offences either under Chapter XVI or XVII of Indian Penal Code. Incidently, this report names 37 persons who were stated to be indulging in continuing unlawful activities as members of the organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate and committing organised crimes within the meaning of MCOCA.