HC reserves order on petition challenging MCOCA

Mumbai, July 3 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today reserved orders on a petition filed by accused in 7/11 Mumbai blasts, Malegaon blasts and Aurangabad arms haul case, challenging constitutional validity of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA).

During the hearing on the petition before a Division Bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Ranjana Desai, Advocate P A Sebastian, appearing for the petitioners, pointed out to the court that the Act was made without jurisdiction. Article 2(1) E of the State Act, he added, contained reference to insurgency and as insurgency was included in the Union list, MCOCA was an encroachment on the list.

Insurgency finds place in list one of the seventh Schedule. It has exclusive privilege of Parliament and no other legislation is empowered to make enactment with regard to topics covered in this list, he said.

Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for the State government, contended that though the subject finds place in exclusive list for the Union, the offences therein were covered by the Indian Penal Code and all State governments, too, were empowered to make laws for the offences covered under the IPC. The counsel added that both the State and Union governments were empowered to make enactments on this subject.

He also pointed out that there were many criminal overlapping enactments and it was quality of the offence that matters and not the subject.

UNI