The Supreme Court in one of its ruling that can have far-reaching impact in dealing with organised crime reversed the Bombay High Court decree on Monday relating to intercept telephones and using them as evidence in organised crimes including terrorist acts. The Apex Court allowed the phone tapping admissible as evidence under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The Bench comprising Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan, Justices RV Raveendran and MK Sharma said that special law is essential in dealing with increasing terrorism and organised crime. State Governments are responsible for cracking down organised crimes in their respective territories. It can not wait for the Central Government to come up with the special laws in restricting the mushrooming crimes.
The Bench however said, the matters like communication system and insurgency figures in the Union List, but the state was legally empowered to make special laws to combat special organised crimes such as extortion, money-laundering, terrorism and insurgency. State Government is capable of making special laws like MCOCA to counter terrorism and organised crime.
Upholding the legality of sections 13, 14, 15 and 16 under MCOCA which allows phone tapping as admissible evidence in the court, the three-member Bench also restored the provisions that Bombay High Court had quashed earlier.
The High Court had struck down Section 13 (appointment of competent authority), Section 14 (authorisation of interception of wire, electronic or oral communication), Section 15 (constitution of committee for review of authorisation orders) and Section 16 (prohibition of interception and disclosure of wire, electronic or oral communication) on the ground that the State had no constitutional right to enact a law on interception of telephones as the subject fell in the Union List.
Against the HC ruling, the Maharashtra government had filed petition in the Supreme Court. After a long hearing on the issue SC had reserved the decision on April 23.
The HC decision quashing Sections 13-16 under MCOCA came in the light of film financier and the diamond merchant Bharat Shah, who was charged under the controversial law for alleged links with the underworld, had defied its constitutional validity.
The HC had upheld the MCOCA but quashed Section 13-16 dealing with phone tapping contending that the Sections contravened the Indian Telegraph Act, which falls under the jurisdiction of Union Legislation.
The High Court had acquitted Bharat Shah under MCOCA but upheld the MCOCA court's order of October 1, 2003 sentencing him one-year imprisonment for concealing information from the police.
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