The Delhi High Court on Monday denied bail to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan in a case registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). .Justice Manoj Jain held that a broad assessment of the material showed a discernible nexus between Balyan and the organised crime syndicate operated by alleged gangster Kapil Sangwan. He underlined that Balyan's allegations of political vendetta "is, merely, in the air and completely unsubstantiated". "Indubitably, there is no scope of any dispute or debate with respect to the invaluable right of having a speedy trial as enshrined and recognized under Article 21 of the Constitution of India but fact remains that in such type of sensitive and serious matters where stringent provisions of MCOCA are invoked, mere long incarceration cannot be taken as governing and decisive factor for grant of bail. MCOCA is a special statute, intended to deal with organized crime syndicate operating through continuing unlawful activities over a period of time," the Court said. .Balyan was arrested by Delhi Police's Crime Branch on December 4, 2024. He is accused of links to an organised crime syndicate allegedly run by absconding gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu, based partly on an audio clip of a mobile conversation allegedly between Balyan and Sangwan. The prosecution alleged that Balyan acted as a "facilitator" for Sangwan's syndicate, allegedly helping identify extortion targets, arranging fake agreements to sell in the name of co-accused Umed Singh to project properties as disputed, and enabling forced sales at throwaway prices..The allegations were refuted by Balyan, arguing that the case was a "glaring example of abuse of MCOCA". It was stated that there was no fresh unlawful activity to justify invoking the law and that Balyan himself had earlier sought police protection against threats from Sangwan. He also alleged political vendetta behind the case, timed to block Balyan's bid for a third consecutive assembly term in the Delhi elections. .Notably, on July 31, a Delhi court had closed an extortion case registered by the Delhi Police against Balyan based on the same audio clip.In that order, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal of the Rouse Avenue Courts held that the prosecution could not produce even an iota of evidence to prove Balyan's culpability..Senior Advocate Rebecca M John along with advocates Jatan Singh, Vivek Jain, Rohit Kumar, Sadiq Noor and Pravir Singh appeared for Naresh Balyan. Special Counsel Amit Prasad, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Akhand Pratap Singh with advocates Hritwirk Maurya, Ayodhya Prasad and Utkarsh Singh represented the State. .[Read Judgement]
