The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to grant bail to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Naresh Balyan in a case registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The court held that the material collected during the investigation prima facie indicated Mr. Balyan’s nexus with an organised crime syndicate.

Justice Manoj Jain upheld the trial court’s May 27 order refusing him bail. The High Court observed that while the case was still at the stage of arguments on charge, the evidence placed by the prosecution was sufficient, at this stage, to justify the invocation of MCOCA.

Mr. Balyan, who was arrested on December 4, 2024 after being granted bail in another extortion case, had challenged the trial court’s refusal to release him. Accused of being a “facilitator” in an organised crime syndicate, he contended that MCOCA had been wrongly invoked and he was falsely implicated for political reasons.

“A broad assessment of the material as collected by the Investigating Agency would lay bare that there is discernible nexus between the appellant [Mr. Balyan] and other members of the syndicate as well as the head of such syndicate,” the court said.

“The element of ‘continuing unlawful activity’ is also palpably present and since such activity is also by use of threat and intimidation with the objective to gain pecuniary advantage, it cannot be said that invocation of MCOCA was unjustifiable,” it added.

‘Completely unsubstantiated’

The former legislator claimed that he was a victim of threats from gangster Kapil Sangwan. He contended that “in view of such threats, he approached the police and was, in fact, given protection and now all of a sudden, for totally inexplicable reasons and on account of some political vendetta, such a vital fact has been brushed aside and he has been, instead, projected as close associate of Kapil Sangwan”.

“Merely because the appellant had lodged complaints against Kapil Sangwan in the 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 court said.

“Of course, the appellant is a political figure but the plea of political vendetta is, merely, in the air and completely unsubstantiated,” the court added.

The prosecution had cited numerous FIRs lodged against alleged syndicate members in various parts of Delhi. It claimed that the syndicate had created havoc in society and amassed huge illegal wealth.

Published - August 04, 2026 01:14 am IST