New Delhi: Former AAP MLA Naresh Balyan will remain in jail after Delhi High Court Monday refused to grant him bail in a case registered under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), despite a trial court recently discharging him in a separate extortion case arising from similar allegations.Justice Manoj Jain, who had reserved the verdict last week, noted Monday that 17 FIRs were lodged against the crime syndicate allegedly involving Balyan, which showed that there was no lack of any continuous unlawful activity. In such sensitive and serious matters, where stringent provisions of MCOCA are invoked, mere long incarceration cannot be taken as a governing and decisive factor for granting bail, he pointed out.The crime branch has accused the former Uttam Nagar legislator of being a “facilitator” in the alleged organised crime syndicate. MCOCA is a special statute that deals with organised crime syndicates operating through continuing unlawful activities over a period of time.Balyan was arrested in the case on Dec 4, 2024, the same day a trial court granted him bail in the extortion case. Last Friday, a court discharged Balyan of the offences under various IPC sections in the extortion case, holding that the prosecution had failed to cross the “foundational threshold test” required for framing of charges.Additional chief judicial magistrate Paras Dalal observed that the prosecution could not raise “grave suspicion” against Balyan, saying there was “not a single piece of evidence” to prima facie establish any prior meeting of minds between him and absconding gangster Kapil Sangwan.Challenging a trial court’s order refusing him bail in the MCOCA case, Balyan had contended that there was “no shred of evidence” against him and the case was “completely frivolous”. The prosecution then cited 16 FIRs lodged against the alleged syndicate members in various parts of the city, claiming that the syndicate had created havoc in society and amassed huge illegal wealth.In Dec 2024, after the grant of bail by Rouse Avenue Court in the extortion case, police arrested him on the court premises in the MCOCA case.While Delhi Police had contended that the investigation was at a crucial stage and the former MLA’s release could hamper the probe, Balyan had consistently claimed that the prosecution was politically motivated and the allegations were fabricated as part of a larger conspiracy against him.
