The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to Akashdeep Karaj Singh, a 22-year-old Punjab resident and one of the accused in the high-profile murder case of former Congress MLA Baba Siddique. Singh is the first among the 26 accused to receive relief in the case.
Justice Neela Gokhale, while granting bail, directed Singh not to leave Mumbai until the trial concludes.
Baba Siddique, a veteran Congress leader and three-time MLA from Bandra West, was shot dead on the night of October 12, 2024, by three assailants outside the Bandra East office of his son, Zeeshan Siddique. Singh was arrested a month later in November 2024.
In his bail plea, Singh argued that the allegations against him were “baseless and vague.” He maintained that his only purported role was being a member of an organised crime syndicate, without any direct involvement in the planning or execution of the murder.
He further submitted that the prolonged incarceration without trial violated his fundamental rights under the Constitution. The court took note of the fact that the trial is unlikely to commence in the near future and that the prosecution had already filed a chargesheet.
The Mumbai Police, in their January 2026 chargesheet, named Anmol Bishnoi—brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi—as the mastermind behind the murder conspiracy. According to the prosecution, the motive was to assert fear and dominance within the criminal underworld by eliminating Siddique.
All 26 accused in the case have been booked under the stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). They are currently lodged in judicial custody.
