Court rejects ex-lawyer’s bail plea in Bishnoi gang case

NEW DELHI A Delhi court on Saturday rejected the bail plea of alleged Lawrence Bishnoi gang associate and his former lawyer, Deepak Nanda, after observing that his claim that he was made to sign pre-typed arrest documents was contradicted by records bearing his signatures and written acknowledgements

NEW DELHI A Delhi court on Saturday rejected the bail plea of alleged Lawrence Bishnoi gang associate and his former lawyer, Deepak Nanda, after observing that his claim that he was made to sign pre-typed arrest documents was contradicted by records bearing his signatures and written acknowledgements.

Case stems from an alleged international arms trafficking and terror module (Representative photo)

Special Court judge Kiran Bansal, who was hearing the case lodged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), said such a plea should not be entertained when the investigating officer had produced documents showing that the accused had acknowledged receiving the grounds and reasons for his arrest.

“When the IO has produced a copy of the Arrest Memo as well as grounds of arrest and reasons of arrest duly signed by the accused and the grounds of arrest and reasons for arrest also having an endorsement of receiving of the copy along with signatures and date, such kind of frivolous pleas by the accused that he was made to sign some pre-typed documents should not be entertained by the Court,” the judge said.

The court also noted that Nanda and his wife were both advocates and were, therefore, “well versed with the law and the procedures”. It held that there had been substantial compliance with the legal requirements governing communication of grounds of arrest and dismissed his second bail application.

The case stems from an alleged international arms trafficking and terror module, which the police claim was being operated by arms traffickers Shahbaz Ansari and Rehan Ansari from Bangladesh. The FIR was registered after four men were apprehended following secret information, leading to the recovery of 10 semi-automatic pistols and 116 live cartridges.

The police told the court that 20 people had been arrested during the investigation and 33 sophisticated foreign-made firearms, including two submachine guns, along with 368 live cartridges, had been recovered either from their possession or at their instance. The agency alleged that the weapons were being brought into India for terrorist activities and that the accused had been directed to recruit people for such activities.

Nanda’s alleged role emerged during the interrogation of co-accused Nishant Arora alias Noni, who reportedly told investigators that he was part of the Bishnoi gang and supplied arms and ammunition to its members. He allegedly said Nanda had joined the gang and referred to himself as Bishnoi’s “Mama”.

According to the police, Nanda told investigators that he was introduced to Bishnoi in 2020, when the gangster was in Delhi Police custody, and thereafter began meeting him in jail and passing messages to gang members.

The police alleged that Nanda acted as an intermediary between extortion victims and Bishnoi, helped negotiate settlements and received extortion money.

The investigating officer claimed that victims who received threats from Bishnoi began approaching Nanda because of his proximity to the gangster.

Nanda allegedly shared their details with Bishnoi for extortion, and the proceeds were used to finance the trafficking of illegal arms and ammunition from Pakistan to India with the help of Shahbaz Ansari, police said.

The police also told the court that a Glock pistol and five live cartridges, allegedly hidden by Nanda in the car of his associate Rishabh Kapoor, were recovered at the latter’s instance.

Analysis of Nanda’s mobile phone, investigators said, revealed photographs of arms and ammunition sent to another co-accused, as well as a screenshot containing Shahbaz Ansari’s mobile number.

Police opened a lookout circular against Nanda on June 22, 2026. Police detained him at Indira Gandhi International Airport on the night of August 25 after he arrived from Dubai and formally arrested him the following day.

Police said that a chargesheet had been filed against 19 accused, while proceedings to secure the presence of alleged kingpins Shahbaz and Rehan Ansari were underway.

In his defence, Nanda had challenged the legality of his arrest, alleging that the grounds and reasons for it had not been supplied to him in writing and that his constitutional rights had been violated.

The court, however, found that the documents had been handed to him against written acknowledgement on August 26, more than two hours before his production before the remand court.

It also noted that his wife and counsel were informed of the grounds of arrest the same day and that lawyers represented him during the remand proceedings. The judge concluded that he suffered no prejudice.