A 22-year-old man from Punjab accused in the murder case of former Maharashtra minister Ziauddin Abdul Rahim, widely known as Baba Siddique, has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court after the court found no convincing material to justify invoking the state’s toughest organised crime law against him.
The court examined the case against Akashdeep Karaj Singh, who was arrested by Mumbai Police and booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on the claim that he was connected to the alleged crime network linked to Anmol Bishnoi. After reviewing the prosecution’s material, the court concluded that the stringent conditions required to deny bail under MCOCA were not met.
While acknowledging the gravity of offences attributed to the alleged syndicate, the court drew a clear line between the seriousness of the broader case and the evidence placed against this particular accused. The judge held that there were no reasonable grounds, at this stage, to believe that the accusations under MCOCA against Singh were prima facie true.
The case against him rested largely on a handful of phone calls to a co-accused, claims of unidentified international calls, a photograph showing him holding a firearm, and an alleged cash deposit in Punjab that later surfaced in a Mumbai bank account. The court found these links too fragile to establish his knowing participation in organised crime.
It noted that simply making a phone call to a co-accused does not automatically imply involvement in a crime syndicate unless there is material to show awareness of the co-accused’s alleged activities—something that can only be tested during trial. The court also pointed out that the investigation had not identified who received the alleged international calls, weakening the prosecution’s claims further.
Taking into account Singh’s young age, the absence of any prior criminal record, and the limited nature of the alleged connections, the court granted bail with strict conditions. These include furnishing a bond of ₹1 lakh with local sureties, reporting to authorities every alternate Monday, and remaining within Maharashtra unless permitted otherwise by the court.
The order effectively underscores that while organised crime laws are meant to tackle serious threats, their application must still clear a high evidentiary bar—especially when liberty is at stake.
