SC agrees to hear ex-AAP MLA Naresh Balyan’s plea for bail in MCOCA case
High court said police material showed a 'discernible nexus' between Balyan and alleged syndicate members
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear former AAP MLA Naresh Balyan’s petition challenging the denial of bail to him in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case.
On August 3, the Delhi High Court had rejected the bail plea of Balyan, accused of facilitating 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 petition challenging the high court order came up for hearing before a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice 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.
Balyan had contended before the high court 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.
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.
