Thane, May 13 (PTI) A special court in Thane district has acquitted a man booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a 17-year-old highway robbery and dacoity case, citing insufficient evidence.
Additional Special Judge A N Sirsikar acquitted Shobhan alias Gando Himla Machar of charges under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and MCOCA.
A copy of the order, dated April 29, was made available on Monday.
Machar was arrested in 2008 in connection with a robbery on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway on December 9, 2007, during which vehicles were stopped and occupants looted of valuables worth more than Rs 3 lakh.
According to the prosecution, three leaders of the Youth Congress were on their way to Surat for a public meeting when a gang of dacoits waylaid their vehicle on the highway and attacked and robbed them.
Judge Sirsikar found the evidence presented by the prosecution insufficient and noted the inability of the witnesses to identify the accused.
The court also questioned the admissibility of a confessional statement recorded by a senior police officer.
Judge Sirsikar pointed out a procedural violation, stating the officer who recorded the confession of a co-accused admitted that police stations involved in the investigation were under his control.
"There is a clear-cut violation of Rule-3(2)" of the MCOC Rules, which prohibits investigating officers from being present during confession recording," the judge ruled.
Regarding Machar's alleged confession, the judge stated, "The prosecution has not proved the confession of the present accused recorded by [the police officer]. Moreover, there must be some other evidence. Confession alone is not sufficient to establish the guilt."
The court acquitted Machar and discharged three absconding co-accused.