A Delhi court recently closed an extortion case against former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan after noting that the Delhi Police could not produce even an iota of evidence. .In an order passed on July 31, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal of the Rouse Avenue Courts held that the police failed to show anything incriminating against Balyan and the prosecution could not establish even a "grave suspicion". “Accused no.2 [Balyan] is alleged to be co-conspirator, therefore the allegations must be prima facie established that he alongwith accused no.1 [alleged gangster Kapil Sangwan] conspired to commit the offence as alleged. There is no iota of evidence that both accused persons ever conversed before receipt of threatening messages/ audio recordings by the complainant. There is no evidence even prima facie that accused no.2, or any one on his behalf approached the complainant or met him when the threats were advanced in May/ June 2023,” the Court observed. Hence, it discharged Balyan of all charges in an extortion case registered by the Delhi Police in 2023..The case arose from a July 2023 complaint by one Gurcharan Singh, who alleged he received WhatsApp calls and voice notes threatening him in the name of gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu, demanding ₹1 crore in extortion money. Balyan, former MLA from Uttar Nagar, was implicated after an audio clip allegedly capturing a conversation between him and Sangwan went viral in August 2023 and was later aired by Times Now Navbharat news channel under the name "Operation PAAP." He was arrested in November 2024.Police booked Balyan under Sections 387 (putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt to commit extortion), 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Sangwan was booked under Section 387, 120B and 174A (non-appearance despite proclamation). .After considering the case, the Court flagged the three-year delay in the probe, noting the case moved in "bursts" separated by months of inactivity. It also noted Balyan’s argument that his arrest occurred shortly before the announcement of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Judge Paras Dalal observed that the complainant Gurcharan Singh’s mobile phone, the original device that allegedly received the threatening messages, was never seized, and that no notice was issued to Facebook or the news channel to trace the source of the viral audio.He noted that only secondary copies transferred to pen drives were placed on record, with no chain of custody or forensic verification of authenticity. A forensic report found voice similarities but was silent on metadata, hash values or the original recording device, the Court said. “This Court thus finds that prosecution cannot cast grave suspicion upon the accused no.2 sufficient to frame charges either for entering into criminal conspiracy with accused no.1 to commit extortion or disappearance of evidence. Accused Naresh Baliyan is accordingly discharged of all offences under which chargesheet has been presented,” the Court ultimately said. Since Sangwan is absconding, the case against him will proceed in absentia. .[Read Order]
