New Delhi: Pulling up police for being “evasive” in a MCOCA case where the accused remained at large for almost six years despite the stringent law being invoked against them, a court observed that the inaction “completely defeated” the purpose.
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999,was invoked against Mukesh and Pradeep in Sept 2020, but they were arrested only in Feb and April 2026, respectively. The joint commissioner of police concerned has been directed to appear in person on Oct 13, with a formal report and comments.
In between, the court noted, they continued to be involved in criminal activities, including “multiple heinous offences”, and “the entire rationale behind invoking MCOCA gets frustrated, is rendered futile”. Criticising an investigation report filed by a DCP, which stated that “police officials have made best efforts… and are still making their best efforts”, special MCOCA judge Gaurav Rao called it “absolutely perfunctory and mere eyewash” and said the claim of “best efforts” was “nothing short of mockery”. Observing that the “severe investigative lapses” may not have reached the top police brass, the court directed that its order be sent to the commissioner of Delhi Police for a detailed inquiry and appropriate action against erring officials/IOs for the extreme delay and failure to fulfil the statutory intent of MCOCA.
Three other gang members are yet to be arrested. The court directed the police commissioner to conduct a detailed inquiry into the lapses of officials and investigating officers. Police were directed to conclude the pending investigation against the remaining gang members at the earliest and place on record details of the cases involving the accused. The court also sought explanations from the officers who investigated the matter, duly forwarded by the joint commissioner, along with his comments on why the accused were not arrested after MCOCA was invoked.
The court pointed out that the DCP’s report failed to answer whether Mukesh was on bail or in judicial custody when MCOCA was invoked in Sept 2020 and during the years he remained at large. Underlining the importance of MCOCA in curbing organised crime, Rao observed, “Enormous delay in investigation and filing of chargesheets, as is well known, affects the trial immensely as crucial evidence gets lost and witnesses tend to lose their memory. It was also silent on details concerning the co-accused.