HC to appoint more MCOCA judges

The statement was made during the hearing of a petition filed by Mohammed Atik Mohammed Iqbal,an accused in the 2010 Pune bomb blast. Iqbal has been charged under MCOCA. He approached the HC seeking speedier disposal of cases under the Act.

Responding to the petition,the court had asked the HC’s administration section to put forth the position on the availability and fresh appointment of judges who would hear MCOCA cases.

Appearing for the administration,additional government pleader Sudeep Nargolkar told the court that a decision had been taken to appoint additional special judges for Thane,Raigad,Alibaug and the rest of the state. “For Raigad and Alibaug,two more judges will be appointed and for Thane,one additional judge will be appointed as one has already been selected for the district. For the remaining districts of Maharashtra,nine additional judges will be appointed,” Nargolkar said.

The Division Bench of Justices A S Oka and S S Jadhav also noted that at present,Mumbai has three judges who hear cases under MCOCA. Nargolkar also told the court that in accordance with the recent decision,the special judges in Mumbai would take up matters only involving MCOCA.

The judges,on Wednesday,asked the state government to ensure that special public prosecutors are available full-time to appear in these matters. The state government has also been asked to consider the idea of setting up a review committee that would consider whether the imposition of the Act in specific cases is justified or not.

The court has slated the case for hearing on October 23,by when the state government and the HC administration will have to inform the Bench about the status of compliance to these decisions.