Sanction or prior approval for prosecution under MCOCA: This sanction order dated 05.11.2020 is the bone of contention in the present matter. Held, this Court has repeatedly said that when an accused is absconding and is declared as proclaimed offender, there is no question of giving him the benefit of Section 438 CrPC. What has been observed and said in relation to Section 438 CrPC applies with more vigour to the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The submissions on behalf of the appellant for consideration of his case because of application of stringent provisions impinging his fundamental rights does not take away the impact of the blameworthy conduct of the appellant. Any claim towards fundamental rights also cannot be justifiably made without the person concerned himself adhering to and submitting to the process of law For example, Prem Shankar Prasad v. State of Bihar and Anr.: (2021) SCC OnLine SC955. Thus, challenge to the judgment as passed by the High Court on 16.12.2021, and to the sanctioning order dated 05.11.2020, was required to be rejected when the appellant had indeed been declared absconder.

Having regard to the stringent provisions of MCOCA, its provisions need to be very strictly interpreted and, thus, the Court has to consider as to whether the basic and threshold requirements, as per combined reading of cls. (d), (e) and (f) of S. 2(1), are fulfilled. If they are not so fulfilled, mere use of the expressions of the statute in the sanction order would be of no effect but, on the other hand, if the requirements are fulfilled, mere want of any expression or word in a particular passage in the sanction order would not take away the substance of the matter. Scope of “organised crime” under MCOCA, explained.

 [Abhishek v. State of Maharashtra, (2022) 8 SCC 282]

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