New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear former A MLA Naresh Balyan’s plea challenging the denial of bail to him in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act case.
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.
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. It concluded that a “broad assessment” of the material collected by police showed a “discernible nexus” between Balyan and other syndicate members. 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 high court rejected the A 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.”
Seeking bail at the high court, Balyan contended that there was “no shred of evidence” against him and the case was “completely frivolous.”
