A Thane court has acquitted nine persons booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a 2016 dacoity case, noting their identification was unreliable and the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them.
The mandatory requirement of the offence of organised crime as defined in Section 2(1)(e) of the MCOCA has not been proved against the accused. "Therefore, mere collection of copies of previous charge-sheets and according to the sanction order u/s 23(2) of the Act are not sufficient to prove the offence under Section 3 of the MCOCA," Special Judge (for MCOCA cases) V.G. Mohite said in the order on December 12, 2025.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused threatened a family, wrongfully confined them, and stole cash and ornaments from their house at Talasari in neighbouring Palghar district on July 18, 2016. The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 395 (dacoity), 397 (robbery or dacoity with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the MCOCA.
The court found the prosecution's evidence, particularly the identification of the accused and recovery of stolen articles, to be unreliable and legally deficient. It was observed that the presence of jail police during the identification parade raised doubts. "The possibility of tampering by them for the identification of the accused cannot be ruled out," the Judge said.
