New Delhi, 24 August (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Delhi Police while hearing a bail plea filed by former Delhi legislator Naresh Balyan in a case registered against him under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath directed the issuance of the notice.

The Delhi High Court had dismissed Balyan’s bail plea on August 3. He subsequently challenged the High Court’s order before the Supreme Court. In the case, the Rouse Avenue Court had taken cognisance on May 5, 2025, of a supplementary chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police against five accused, including Balyan.

During the hearing of the bail plea before the High Court, the Delhi Police opposed Balyan’s release, arguing that the MCOCA provisions were applicable to him as a criminal conspiracy allegedly revealed in a 2019 FIR came to light in 2024.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for the Delhi Police, had referred to the provisions of MCOCA and argued that a person who assists or facilitates a crime in any manner can also come within the ambit of the law. He said the chargesheet referred to the involvement of a gang and was not limited to the role of a single individual.

The prosecution further submitted that a person who had been an eyewitness in the case registered in 2019 was murdered in 2024, which, according to the police, indicated the alleged criminal nexus involving the accused.

Appearing for Balyan, advocate Vivek Jain had argued that the MCOCA provisions were not attracted in his case because the law requires a continuing pattern of organised crime. He maintained that no fresh offence or new criminal activity had been recorded in the FIR and, therefore, the essential conditions for invoking MCOCA were not satisfied.

Balyan was arrested by the Delhi Police in the MCOCA case after he was granted bail in an extortion case on December 4, 2024. He had initially been arrested in the extortion case on the night of November 30, 2024.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar