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Delhi police oppose AAP leader’s bail plea to canvass wife in polls

Jan 24, 2025 05:50 AM IST

Naresh Balyan’s wife is contesting the Delhi assembly elections on the AAP ticket from Vikaspuri constituency

The Delhi police on Thursday opposed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan’s plea to the high court to be released on interim bail in connection with a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case lodged against him with links to UK-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, to aid his wife in the upcoming polls, arguing that there was no pressing urgency. The matter will now be heard on January 28, when the Delhi police will make further submissions opposing Balyan’s bail.

Naresh Balyan. (PTI)
Naresh Balyan. (PTI)

Balyan’s wife is contesting the Delhi assembly elections on the AAP ticket from Vikaspuri constituency.

The Delhi police, represented by Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, pointed to the Supreme Court’s split verdict in former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain’s plea seeking interim bail in a murder case related to the 2020 Delhi riots, to contest the polls on an All India Majlis e Ittehad ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court‘s justice Pankaj Mitthal had denied bail to Tahir holding that right to canvassing was neither a fundamental nor a statutory right but justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah had differed.

“Now with the split verdict which has come (in Tahir Hussain’s case before the Supreme Court), there is no urgency which is left,” Prasad submitted before a bench of justice Vikas Mahajan.

Balyan was arrested by the Delhi police on December 4, in a case lodged by the Anti-Gang Squad (AGS) of the Crime Branch in Dwarka involving allegations of organised crime and extortion, shortly after he was granted bail in the extortion case. The extortion case had stemmed from a May 31, 2022 incident where a complainant received threatening messages from a caller identifying himself as Kapil Sangwan. The caller allegedly demanded 1 crore and threatened dire consequences if the amount was not paid.

He had approached the high court challenging city court’s January 15 order rejecting his bail on the ground that the cops at this stage had sufficient material to indicate the legislator’s nexus with an “organized crime syndicate” and his engagement in continuing unlawful activities as the syndicate’s member. Taking note of the investigation’s “initial stage”, special judge Kaveri Baweja, in her 32-page order, observed that Balyan’s release on bail would hamper the probe.

In his petition before the high court, Balyan has stated that he was arrested “frivolously”, on the basis of past FIRs and confessional statements given by two co accused, in the absence of specific or fresh allegations against him. The plea went on to add that the FIR neither disclosed any specific criminal act committed by him or named him as an accused.

In its affidavit filed on Wednesday, the Delhi police had opposed Balyan’s bail plea, citing his ability to influence witnesses, pursuant to his release “There is no ground for the applicant to be released on interim bail as he being an influential person, he can extend threat to witnesses specifically in view of the fact that some of the public witnesses filed application before the competent authority wherein they have apprehended threat to their life from the members of Kapil Sangwan syndicate,” the affidavit added. The Delhi police in its 10-page affidavit had urged the court to dismiss his bail, asserting that Sangwan’s associates including the AAP MLA provided logistical support to Sangwan by either making a plan or providing the information.

During the hearing on Thursday, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa representing Balyan urged the court to release his client on interim bail, asserting that there was no evidence against his client in the MCOCA case, besides the confessional statements of two co accused that were “extracted” without complying with section 18 of MCOCA. The said provision lays down the conditions based on which the confessional statements are admissible in evidence. The seasoned lawyer further asserted that the only case in which his client was involved was the extortion case, in which he had been granted bail on December 4 by the city court, noting that there was no evidence against him. Pahwa also argued that the police had registered almost 70 cases against the gang but he was not named as an accused in any of the cases.

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