Delhi HC sets Apr 9 to hear bail plea of ex-MLA Naresh Balyan in MCOCA case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday posted on April 9 the bail plea of former AAP MLA Naresh Balyan in a MCOCA case. Justice Vikas Mahajan, who was hearing the matter, transferred the plea to the roster bench of Justice Ravinder Dudeja who deals with cases of MPs and MLAs. Balyan was arrested in the MCOCA case on December 4, 2024, the day a trial court granted him bail in an alleged extortion case. Advocate M S Khan, representing Balyan, said the former legislator was in custody for nearly four months and urged the court to grant an earlier date. Balyan's counsel had previously argued there was "no shred of evidence" against him and the case was "completely frivolous" while claiming that the FIR did not even mention Balyan's name. Balyan himself raised a complaint against the crime, he added.

The Delhi Police counsel had opposed the bail plea saying like Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, there was a bar on granting bail to an accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) unless certain conditions, including reasonable grounds to show the accused did not commit the crime were met which was not the case here. Claiming there was a "continuous unlawful activity" to sustain invocation of MCOCA against Balyan, the special counsel for police said no relief could be given to him. Balyan was accused of being a "facilitator" in an organised crime syndicate. On January 15, a trial court denied bail to Balyan. Before the trial court, Delhi Police had opposed Balyan's bail application, claiming the investigation was at a crucial stage in the case, and if granted bail, the accused could hamper the probe. The prosecutor had cited 16 FIRs lodged against the alleged syndicate members in various parts of Delhi and claimed it "created havoc in the society and has amassed huge illegal wealth". On January 29, the trial court had refused to release him on custody parole to enable him to "guide" his wife who was contesting the assembly polls in February 2025.