Mumbai, February 9 The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to Akashdeep Karaj Singh, an accused in the murder of NCP leader and former MLA Baba Siddique, making him the first person to receive relief in the case. A bench of Justice Neela Gokhale, in its order, stated that the offence committed by the organised crime syndicate, alleged to be headed by Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi, was undoubtedly a "serious offence". However, after reviewing the prosecution evidence concerning Singh, the court said it was "unable to form an opinion that there are reasonable grounds, at this stage, for believing that the accusations against the Applicant of committing the offence under the MCOCA are prima facie true". The court granted Singh, who is a resident of Punjab, bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh and directed him not to leave Mumbai until the trial in the case is over. Siddique (66) was shot dead by three assailants outside his son Zeeshan's office in the Bandra East area on the night of October 12, 2024. Singh (22), who was arrested in November 2024, is the first accused to have secured bail in the case. Justice Gokhale, in the order, stated that the prosecution's case against Singh hinges on one phone call made by him to a co-accused. However, the bench noted that one phone call cannot connect Singh with an organised crime syndicate unless it clearly demonstrated that he had knowledge that the co-accused was involved in the syndicate. "A bare allegation, unsupported by any material, that the Applicant (Singh) made international calls to supporters of the Organized Crime Syndicate in Canada, does not indicate his complicity in the offence," the HC said. The court also noted that the confessional statements of two accused in the case have no mention of Singh. The confessional statements describe in detail their own roles as well as the roles of other accused in the case, but Singh's name is "absent," Justice Gokhale said. In his bail plea, the accused claimed that he was implicated in the case and that the allegations leveled against him were baseless and vague. Singh claimed that he is only accused of being a member of an organized crime syndicate, and no specific role has been attributed to him in the present case. He also contended that the trial in the case would not start in the near future, and that incarceration without trial is a violation of his fundamental rights. In January this year, the police filed a chargesheet in the case, showing Anmol Bishnoi, brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, as a wanted accused. According to the prosecution, Anmol Bishnoi hatched a conspiracy to kill Siddique to instill fear and dominance over the crime syndicate. The police have arrested 26 people in the case and booked them under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). They are currently in judicial custody.
Accused in Siddique Murder Case Granted Bail Due to Lack of Evidence
Mumbai, February 9 The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to Akashdeep Karaj Singh, an accused in the murder of NCP leader and former MLA Baba Siddique, making him the first person to receive relief in the case. A bench of Justice Neela Gokhale, in its order, stated that the offence committed by the organised crime syndicate, alleged to be headed by Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi, was undoubtedly a "serious offence". However, after reviewing the prosecution evidence concerning Singh, the court said it was "unable to form an opinion that there are reasonable grounds, at this stage, for believing that the accusations against the Applicant of committing the offence under the MCOCA are prima facie true". The court granted Singh, who is a resident of Punjab, bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh and directed him not to leave Mumbai until the trial in the case is over. Siddique (66) was shot dead by three assailants outside his son Zeeshan's office in the Bandra East area on the night of October 12, 2024. Singh (22), who was arrested in November 2024, is the first accused to have secured bail in the case. Justice Gokhale, in the order, stated that the prosecution's case against Singh hinges on one phone call made by him to a co-accused. However, the bench noted that one phone call cannot connect Singh with an organised crime syndicate unless it clearly demonstrated that he had knowledge that the co-accused was involved in the syndicate. "A bare allegation, unsupported by any material, that the Applicant (Singh) made international calls to supporters of the Organized Crime Syndicate in Canada, does not indicate his complicity in the offence," the HC said. The court also noted that the confessional statements of two accused in the case have no mention of Singh. The confessional statements describe in detail their own roles as well as the roles of other accused in the case, but Singh's name is "absent," Justice Gokhale said. In his bail plea, the accused claimed that he was implicated in the case and that the allegations leveled against him were baseless and vague. Singh claimed that he is only accused of being a member of an organized crime syndicate, and no specific role has been attributed to him in the present case. He also contended that the trial in the case would not start in the near future, and that incarceration without trial is a violation of his fundamental rights. In January this year, the police filed a chargesheet in the case, showing Anmol Bishnoi, brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, as a wanted accused. According to the prosecution, Anmol Bishnoi hatched a conspiracy to kill Siddique to instill fear and dominance over the crime syndicate. The police have arrested 26 people in the case and booked them under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). They are currently in judicial custody.
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- akashdeep karaj singh anmol bishnoi baba siddique murder bombay high court lawrence bishnoi maharashtra control of organized crime act (mcoca) zeeshan siddique
