Prior sanction under MCOCA bars cognizance on private complaint, and Section 156(3) cannot bypass that safeguard.

Under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999, a Special Court may receive a private complaint under Section 9(1), but cognizance cannot be taken unless the prior sanction requirement in Section 23(2) is satisfied by an officer not below the rank of Additional Director General of Police. Section 23 operates as a statutory safeguard and must be read harmoniously with Section 9. Because the Act overrides the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Special Court cannot invoke Section 156(3) to order investigation on a private complaint as a means of bypassing Section 23(2).

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Issues: Whether a Special Court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 can take cognizance of an offence on a private complaint under Section 9(1) without compliance with Section 23(2), and whether it can invoke Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to order investigation on such a complaint.

Analysis: Section 9(1) enables the Special Court to take cognizance on a complaint or a police report, but that power is controlled by Section 23(2), which bars cognizance unless previous sanction is granted by a police officer not below the rank of Additional Director General of Police. The provisions of Section 23 are intended as safeguards for the stringent scheme of the Act and must be read harmoniously with Section 9. In view of Section 25, the Act overrides the Code, and the Special Court cannot bypass the statutory route by resorting to Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure for a separate inquiry on a private complaint before complying with Section 23.

Conclusion: The Special Court may entertain a private complaint under Section 9(1), but it cannot take cognizance unless Section 23(2) is satisfied, and it cannot invoke Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to circumvent that requirement. The contrary view was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999, cognizance on a private complaint is permissible only after prior sanction under Section 23(2), and the Special Court cannot use the Code of Criminal Procedure to avoid that statutory precondition because the Act has overriding effect.

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