Judgment :

Chandramauli Kr. Prasad, J.

In these special leave petitions, Mahipal Singh figures as an accused. He was initially named as an accused in Hasan Ganj, Lucknow P.S. Case No. 151 of 2005. This case was registered on 26th of May, 2005 and after investigation the accused Mahipal Singh was charge-sheeted on 26th of April, 2006. On the basis of a report given by Inspector Manoj Kumar, another case E0005 was registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (for short “CBI”), on 2nd of June, 2011. Further, on the basis of the report given by the same Inspector, four other cases i.e. E0007, E0008, E0009 and E0010 were registered on 28th of July, 2011 by the CBI. All these cases excepting E0009 related to rigging of results of various entrance examinations for admission to postgraduate courses in medical colleges conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (for short “AIIMS”). Case No. E0009 also related to the rigging of the result of entrance examination but it is in connection with admission to undergraduate course in medical colleges. Another case i.e. E0006 was registered by the CBI on 3rd of June, 2011 concerning the rigging of the result of entrance examination of Pre-Veterinary test conducted by the AIIMS. In all these cases, Mahipal Singh figured as an accused and alleged to be the kingpin, who facilitated the interpolation and manipulation of the OMR Answer Sheets of certain candidates enabling them to qualify in the postgraduate and undergraduate courses in Medical Science and undergraduate courses in Veterinary Science. In all these first information reports, accused Mahipal Singh was alleged to have committed the offence under Section 120B read with Section 420, 467, 471 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code. In E0005 and E0006, charge-sheets were submitted on 1st of September, 2011 and the learned Judge in sesin of the case took cognizance of the offence on 13th of September, 2011 and 1st of September, 2011 respectively. Accused Mahipal Singh was charge-sheeted in E0007 and E0008 and the Deputy Inspector General (for short “DIG”) of CBI granted approval for invoking Section 3 of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (hereinafter referred to as “MCOCA”), against him by order dated 18th of October, 2011. Accused Mahipal Singh was further charge-sheeted in E0009 and E0010 and by order dated 14th of January, 2012, the DIG, CBI granted approval for invoking Section 3 of MCOCA against him. Accused Mahipal challenged the orders dated 18th of October, 2011 and 14th of January, 2012 passed by the DIG, CBI invoking Section 3 of MCOCA in the four cases detailed above in four separate writ petitions filed before the Delhi High Court. The investigating agency secured Mahipal Singh's remand under MCOCA from the Designated Court in E0006 and E0007 by separate orders passed on 30th of November, 2011. Accused Mahipal Singh challenged those orders of remand in two separate writ petitions. Thus, altogether accused Mahipal Singh filed six writ petitions. All those writ petitions were heard together and by a common judgment dated 21st of May, 2012, the High Court set aside the orders of the DIG, CBI granting approval in E0008, E0009 and E0010 on its finding that CBI “could not have invoked MCOCA in four different cases on same set of facts and four different charge-sheets”. However, it upheld the order of the DIG, CBI invoking Section 3 of MCOCA in E0007. The High Court further dismissed both the writ petitions filed against the orders of remand for offence under the provisions of MCOCA as infructuous.

Accused Mahipal Singh, aggrieved by the order upholding the order of the DIG, CBI invoking Section 3 of MCOCA, has preferred Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 6401 of 2012, whereas the CBI and its functionary, aggrieved by setting aside of the orders of DIG invoking Section 3 of MCOCA in three cases, have filed Special Leave Petition (Criminal) Nos. 23772379 of 2013 and both of them pray for grant of spec