Bombay High Court cancels Sachin Waze's bail in Antilia bomb scare case

The Bombay High Court on Thursday cancelled the bail granted to Sachin Waze, the dismissed Mumbai Police officer accused in the 2021 Antilia bomb scare and the murder of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran. Waze, who has never walked out of jail since his arrest, will remain in custody while the trial goes on.

A division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale read out only the operative part of its verdict in open court. “Special court’s order is quashed and set aside... Appeal by NIA is allowed,” the bench said. The detailed judgment, which will set out the court’s reasons, has not yet been released.

A bail that never took effect

A special NIA court had granted Waze bail on September 29. The judge questioned whether terror charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act could apply, noting that the Ambani family had carried on its normal routine, that nothing on record showed any member of the family had been terrorised and that no statements had been recorded from the family.

The National Investigation Agency went straight to the High Court and won an urgent stay within days, so Waze stayed behind bars. He is held at Thane Central Prison.

The two sides

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, for the NIA, argued that the special judge had erred because statements of security staff at Antilia had in fact been recorded. The agency’s case is that Waze planted the explosives to restore his image as a “super cop”, and that Hiran was killed as a weak link after he refused to take the blame. It also told the court that Waze owned more than five high-end cars and spent over 100 days in a five-star hotel while drawing a salary of about ₹90,000 a month.

Senior Advocate V M Thorat, for Waze, said that even on the NIA’s own case, staging a scare to win back professional standing was not a terrorist act under Section 15 of the UAPA. Gelatin sticks left without a detonator to frighten one family did not terrorise the public, he argued. He also pointed to the more than five years Waze has spent in custody and asked for parity with co-accused.

The case

On February 25, 2021, a Scorpio carrying gelatin sticks and a threat letter was found near Antilia, Mukesh Ambani’s home in south Mumbai. Hiran, who had said the vehicle was stolen from him a week earlier, was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5.

Waze, then a Mumbai Police officer, at first led the investigation himself. The case moved to the state Anti-Terrorism Squad and then to the NIA, which arrested Waze on March 13, 2021. Former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, constable Vinayak Shinde, bookie Naresh Gore, assistant inspector Riyazuddin Qazi and Sunil Mane are among the others accused. All face murder charges and offences under the UAPA.

The ruling is on bail only. The allegations against Waze have yet to be tested at trial.