New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear former AAP MLA Naresh Balyan’s plea challenging the denial of bail to him in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case.
On August 3, the Delhi High Court denied bail to Balyan, accused of being a facilitator in a crime syndicate run by gangster Kapil Sangwan, saying the conversation between him and the gangster demonstrates an “active criminal nexus” between the two.
Balyan’s plea challenging the high court order came up for hearing on Monday before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
The bench sought a response from the Delhi Police on the plea within four weeks. The ex-lawmaker was arrested in a case under the MCOCA on December 4, 2024, the same day a trial court granted him bail in an extortion case.
Seeking bail at the high court, Balyan contended that there was “no shred of evidence” against him and the case was “completely frivolous.” The high court rejected the AAP leader’s contention that he was himself a victim, had lodged complaints against the gangster and was now being projected as a close associate of Sangwan due to political vendetta.
The high court said Balyan’s complaints against Sangwan cannot absolve him at this stage, keeping in mind the other “incriminating material”, and that his plea of political vendetta was “merely in the air and completely unsubstantiated.” It concluded that a “broad assessment” of the material collected by police showed a “discernible nexus” between Balyan and other syndicate members.
“Merely because the appellant (Balyan) had lodged complaints against Kapil Sangwan in past, the material collected by the investigating agency cannot be negated and annulled, particularly when the conversation between him and Kapil Sangwan demonstrates an active criminal nexus between the two,” the high court said.
“Whether these complaints are genuine or not; or whether these are clever ploy to create a false illusion; or whether the threats existed but of late, there is tacit association between them would become clearer only during the trial,” it said.
The high court noted that there were as many as 17 FIRs lodged against the syndicate, and it was not a case of lack of any “continuous unlawful activity” or double jeopardy.
Balyan had sought bail at the high court after a trial denied him the relief on May 27, 2025.
The prosecutor earlier submitted that there were 16 FIRs against the alleged syndicate members in various parts of Delhi, and the syndicate had created havoc in society and amassed huge illegal wealth. PTI ABA VN VN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.