The Bombay High Court on Thursday overturned the special court's September 2021 bail order for former Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze, the key accused in the Antilia bomb scare that killed businessman Mansukh Hiran. Waze, now remanded, faces the NIA's UAPA case.
The 2021 incident saw an SUV filled with explosives parked outside Mukesh Ambani's Antilia in south Mumbai, and Hiran, who had taken the vehicle, was found dead in a Thane creek five days later. Waze was arrested by the NIA on March 13, 2021, and became a named accused in both the bomb scare and Hiran’s murder.
The National Investigation Agency, which moved the court in March 2021, argued the special court had granted bail without establishing a prima facie case of terrorism. The NIA’s appeal claimed the bail order was “illegal and bad in law” and sought an immediate stay.
Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Neela Gokhale, in a 2‑judge bench, dismissed the bail citing the NIA’s appeal and set the special court order aside. The high court’s ruling clears the way for the NIA to press its charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
With Waze still held at Thane Central Prison, the court’s decision is expected to prompt a formal hearing of the case’s next stage, likely scheduled for the coming weeks.