MCOCA Case: Delhi Court Hands Life Imprisonment to Gangster Vikas Gulia, Denies Death Sentence

Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain of Dwarka District Court in an order dated December 13, imposed life imprisonment on both convicts under Section 3 of MCOCA, which deals with punishment for organised crime. The court also directed them to pay a fine of ₹3 lakh each.

Refusing the prosecution’s plea for capital punishment, the Court observed that the death sentence can be awarded only in exceptional cases where the crime is committed in an “extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner” that shocks the collective conscience of society. After weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court concluded that the present case did not meet that threshold.

“On balancing all factors, the present case does not fall under the category of ‘rarest of the rare’ cases. Thus, the death penalty cannot be imposed upon the convicts,” the Court held.

The public prosecutor had sought the death penalty, arguing that both accused were habitual offenders who continued to engage in unlawful activities even while on bail in other cases. It was submitted that the convicts had demonstrated complete disregard for the rule of law and acted without fear of legal consequences, thereby disentitling them to any leniency.

The Court, however, while rejecting the plea for capital punishment, recorded strong observations on the gravity of the offences and the impact of the convicts’ actions on society. It noted that both Gulia and Dhirpal were involved in a range of serious crimes, including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass and criminal intimidation. The court also took note of the fact that they had misused interim bail granted to them by absconding.

“The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the minds of the general public. People lost complete faith in law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of the convicts,” the Court observed. The Court added that despite suffering losses, victims lacked the courage to depose against them due to fear.

As per the record, Vikas Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to around 10 serious offences. Emphasising the purpose behind the stringent legislation, the Court noted that MCOCA was enacted to address the growing menace of organised crime, which poses a serious threat to society and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated through activities such as extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom and murder.

Both accused were convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The chargesheet had been filed under Sections 3 and 4 of MCOCA, the latter dealing with punishment for possessing unaccounted wealth on behalf of an organised crime syndicate.