Organised Crime - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition organised-crime

Definition :

Organised crime, in Europe, the terms 'organised crime' and 'professional crime' are largely inter-changeable. As compared to American standards, the European criminal orgainsations are small-scale and short-lived. Such crimes are defined as involving system of specifically defined relation-ship with mutual obligation and privileges and association of a small group of criminals for the execution of the intended crime. The eruption of organised crime in India is of recent origin and is at the initial stage. It is the need of the hour to control such criminal activities which tempt the persons involved to amass huge profit. Such crimes have not only a legal facet but have a social and economic aspect which is required to be felt and dealt with by all concerned including the judiciary, the executive, the politicians, the social reformers, the intelligentsia and the law enforcing agency, State of Maharashtra v. Bharat Chaganlal Raghani, (2001) 9 SCC 1.

Means any continuing unlawful activity by an individual, singly or jointly, either as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate, by use of violence or threat of violence or intimidation or coercion, or other unlawful means, with the objective of pecuniary benefits, or gaining undue economic or other advantage for himself or any other person or promoting insurgency. [Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999, s. 2(e)]

--See Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsingh Sharma v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 2005 SC 2277.

Any continuing unlawful activity by an individual, singly or jointly, either as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate, by use of violence or threat of violence or intimidation or coercion, or other unlawful means, with the objective of gaining pecuniary benefits, or gaining undue economic or other advantage for himself or any other person or promoting insurgency, Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 2005 SC 2277. [See Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, (30 of 1999), s. 2(1)(e)]

Means widespread criminal activities that are co-ordinated and controlled through a central syndicate, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 1126.