The Bombay High Court has cancelled the bail granted to former Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in the 2021 Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases, allowing an appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against a special court order that had granted him relief.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale passed the order on Thursday. The court said the special court’s order dated September 29 was being quashed and set aside, according to the order reported by IANS and published by Mid-Day.
Waze, a dismissed assistant police inspector, will remain in judicial custody at Thane Central Prison. The Bombay High Court had earlier imposed an interim stay on the bail granted by the Special NIA Court, preventing his release while the agency’s appeal was being heard.
The case relates to the recovery of an SUV containing explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai in February 2021. Mansukh Hiran, described in the report as a possible witness in the case, was later found murdered. Waze is an accused in both cases.
The NIA opposed bail, arguing that Waze could tamper with witnesses and destroy evidence. During the proceedings, the agency’s lawyer also referred to allegations that Waze had been involved in criminal activities despite having served as a police officer responsible for public safety. The court’s latest order accepts the agency’s appeal against the lower court’s bail decision; the supplied report does not state that the trial has concluded.
During an earlier hearing in October, the High Court questioned details of Waze’s lifestyle and financial circumstances. The bench examined allegations concerning his use of high-end cars and his stay of around 100 days in a room at the Oberoi hotel in South Mumbai.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the NIA, placed witness statements before the court. These statements referred to Waze travelling in a black Mercedes and asking people accompanying him to switch off their mobile phones. The court asked whether the Mercedes was registered in Waze’s name and whether it was usual for an assistant police inspector to own such an expensive vehicle.
The NIA provided details of five vehicles that Waze allegedly owned or used while he was serving as an assistant police inspector. The list included a white BMW, a black Volvo, a white Mercedes, a white Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and another black Mercedes. The court also heard that Waze had travelled in a high-end Mercedes to the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office and the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s residence, Varsha.
The court questioned how an officer earning approximately Rs 90,000 a month at the time could afford the vehicles and hotel stay. The NIA told the court that the vehicles and lifestyle were being linked to alleged extortion in the case. The Bombay High Court’s cancellation of bail means Waze will continue in judicial custody as proceedings in the two cases continue.
