MUMBAI: A day after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court granted bail to former Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in the Antilia explosives scare and the related murder of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday stayed the order temporarily.
“I will have to recuse myself from hearing the matter. I understand that this is a different matter but still there are connections here and there. Sharma allegedly arranged for four contract killers while another serving police officer, inspector Sunil Mane, fetched Hiran from his house and handed him over to the contract killers. “There was absolutely nothing on record even to infer that the Ambanis or any one of them is/was, are/were ever terrorised in any manner. Rather, the facts appear otherwise.
Waze was arrested by the NIA on March 13, 2021 and he is currently lodged in the Thane Central Prison.
“Having heard learned ASG (additional solicitor general Anil C Singh), as also having perused the impugned order dated 29.09.2026, we are inclined to grant an ad-interim stay to the said order till the adjourned date of hearing,” a division bench of justices Girish Kulkarni and Dr Neela Gokhale said and posted the matter for further hearing on October 7. It should be placed before another bench,”Justice Dangre said. Waze himself had parked the vehicle outside Antilia, and given a contract to Pradip Sharma, his former encounter squad colleague, to kill Hiran; this was allegedly after Hiran refused to take the blame for planting the vehicle, according to the NIA. Day-to-day business of the Ambanis does not appear to have been disturbed even for a minute,” the special court had said while granting bail to the former police officer.
However, the bench recused itself from hearing the matter, stating that while working as a lawyer, justice Kotwal used to be associated with senior advocate Manoj Mohite, who had earlier appeared for Waze. The NIA had moved the high court immediately after the special court granted Waze bail on Tuesday and the matter was first placed before a division bench of justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale on Tuesday itself. On Tuesday, he was granted bail by a special NIA court, which observed that the prosecution had failed to establish in whose mind Waze wanted to create terror.
This triggered the second FIR, while the third FIR pertained to the alleged murder of Hiran, whose body was found dumped in a creek near Mumbra on March 5, 2021.
On February 25, the “stolen” vehicle was found parked outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence, Antilia, with 20 gelatine sticks and a letter threatening the Ambani family.
