Gawli move HC against MCOCA case

Mumbai, Apr 17 (UNI) Gangeter-turned-politician, Arun Gawli, today moved the Bombay High Court, challenging an offence registered against him under Maharastra Control for Organised Crimde Act (MCOCA) on April 15.

The plea will come up for hearing tomorrow before Justice V M Kanade.

According to the plea, Gawli contended that the police had wrongly applied the provisions of MCOCA against him and the same does not have any constitutional validity.

He claimed that first the police had registered a case of extortion and threatening a businessman under the Indian Penal Code, against him but later altered the charges and converted the same case under the MCOCA, which was legally invalid as the mandatory provision before enactment of the stringent act was not completed.

He prayed to the court that the same should be set aside and police be directed not to take further action including his arrest till the plea was pending.

Gawli, an MLA from Chinchpokli constituency of Mumbai, was earlier granted anticipatory bail by Session Judge Abhay Thipse. Later, the state moved an applicationv in the High Court challenging the Session Court's order with prayer to cancel it, as the Session Judge had not taken cognisance of the material in the case and granted the anticipatory bail.

Following the state's appeal, the High Court had refused to cancel the don's bail but referred the matter to Principal Judge with a direction to appoint a new judge to hear the matter afresh.

Even after the appointment of the new judge, Gawli's plea is still pending before the Session Court.

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