In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act 1999 regarding confession recording. It held that an Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP) has the same rank as a Superintendent of Police (SP) and may therefore record confessions under Section 18 of MCOCA. Rank denotes a class of official position encompassing SP, Addl. SP, DCP, and Commandant posts, which are interchangeable on transfer. The Court rejected the argument that MCOCA requirements demand special authorizations beyond the statutory language. It also held that approval orders under Section 23(1)(a) relate to offences, not specific offenders, and need not name all accused persons initially. Persons discovered during investigation may be proceeded against upon obtaining sanction under Section 23(2). The Court dismissed arguments that gambling offences cannot sustain MCOCA invocation, noting they may support charges of abetting organized crime under Section 3(2).
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