JUDGMENT

Altamas Kabir, J.—Four writ petitions, in which the petitioners had challenged their prosecution under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the MCOCA’) and seeking quashing of the First Information Report and the grant of approval under Section 23 (1) (a) and sanction under Section 23 (2) of MCOCA, were disposed of by a common order passed by the Bombay High Court on 10th November, 2006. The writ petitioners had contended that no case had been made out against them regarding their complicity in the organized criminal activity or organized crimes alleged to have been committed by the organized crime syndicate known as Chhota Rajan gang under the leadership of Rajan Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan alias Nana alias Sheth. All the said writ petitions were dismissed by the said order but only Vinod G. Asrani is before us in this special leave petition. While the other writ petitioners as part of the organized crime syndicate led by Chhota Rajan are alleged to have indulged in extortion of large sums of money from developers who undertake redevelopment work of old buildings in Tilak Nagar and other areas of Bombay, by