Shakeel's 'girlfriend' challenges MCOCA

The Bombay High Court has issued notices to the state government and others on a PIL filed by Rubina Siraj Syed, the alleged girlfriend of Karachi-based don Chhota Shakeel, challenging the validity of confessional statements recorded by the police under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The court, while admitting the PIL on June 14, adjourned the hearing till next month. Syed urged the court to strike down Section 18 of the MCOCA, as it was violative of Sections 25 and 26 of the Indian Evidences Act. The court was told that as per Section 18 of the MCOCA, confessional statement of an accused recorded by a police officer of the rank of Superintendent or Deputy Commissioner of Police was admissible in court. But under the Indian Evidences Act, such confessions were not admissible in court. Syed is booked under the MCOCA in an extortion case. She was arrested in May 2004, for allegedly helping members of the organised crime syndicate.

The prosecution alleged that Syed was supplying mails and money to undertrial prisoners of the Shakeel gang.  Syed was arrested based on a confession made by Shakeel gang member.