Antilia case: Court grants bail to Sachin Waze
On Tuesday, a special court of the NIA granted bail to former police officer Sachin Waze in the case concerning the 2021 Antilia bomb scare and the murder of Mansukh Hiran, the court stating that the prosecution had not been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt a case of terrorism against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Special Sessions Judge, Chakor S Baviskar, stated that there is no record indicating that the Ambani family was in any way “terrorised”.
On February 25, 2021, an SUV containing explosives was discovered near the residence of the industrialist Mukesh Ambani, ‘Antilia’, in south Mumbai; Masnukh Hiran, the man who had the SUV, was found dead in a creek in the adjacent town of Thane on March 5, 2021.
The court pointed out that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had not recorded any statements from any member of the Ambani family to show that they had been terrorised. The record shows absolutely nothing, no matter how far one may stretch the imagination, to suggest that the Ambanis, or any of them, were or are terrified in any way.
The court stated that the Ambanis’ everyday business had not seemed to be in any way disrupted from the time of the incident until now.
The fact that, as the prosecution claims, Sachin Waze had intended to instil terror or that the act of the accused was likely to have instilled terror in the minds of the Ambanis... is not something that can be found in the records, it was observed.
The court also observed that the gelatin sticks discovered in the SUV parked near the Ambani residence did not have any detonators and therefore could not be used to cause an explosion, thus failing to meet the ‘means’ necessary to constitute a ‘terrorist act’ as defined in Section 15 of the UAPA.
About the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, the court said that although it was a homicidal death, it had not been the direct result of a terrorist act.
The court pointed out that it remains an independent offence under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), avoiding the strict bail limitations under the UAPA.
The court granted Waze’s bail request by releasing him on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with a surety. The prosecution has accused Waze and others of forming a “terrorist gang” and entering into a criminal conspiracy between February and March 20.
On February 25, 2021, an SUV with explosives inside was found near billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence.
Businessman Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV before it was allegedly stolen, was found dead in a creek in neighbouring Thane on March 5, 2021.
Sachin Waze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 13, 2021. He was subsequently made an accused in a corruption case being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. Waze has already got bail in the corruption case.
