Bombay HC clears decks for release of Antilia bomb scare case accused – Times of India

MUMBAI: Paving the way for the release of an accused, Naresh Gaur, in the Antilia bomb scare case, the Bombay high court on Wednesday quashed and set aside the special NIA court’s order that has stayed for 25 days its own order granting him bail.
“In so far as power of the learned sessions judge to stay his own order of grant of bail is concerned, in my view, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) does not empower the sessions judge to stay the operation of his order of grant of bail,” said Justice Sandeep Shinde, allowing Gaur’s petition.
A cricket bookie, Gaur was the first among 10 accused to be granted bail by the NIA court on November 20, which observed that prima facie he did not seem to be aware of the conspiracy. On the prosecution’s plea to file an appeal, the NIA judge stayed the order for 25 days. Gaur was arrested in March for allegedly procuring SIM cards used by the accused.
Senior advocate Shirish Gupte, for Gaur, argued that the judge was wrong in staying the bail order. Also, that till date, the NIA has not preferred an appeal and the stay has interfered with Gaur’s right to liberty.
Justice Shinde rejected the argument of additional solicitor general Anil Singh, for NIA, that a writ petition was not maintainable and instead Gaur should have filed an appeal. He noted that the high court can stay the operation of bail order where it finds it necessary to do so, to prevent the abuse of the process of the court or to meet the ends of justice. The NIA judge could not assume jurisdiction to stay its own order granting bail. “There being error in jurisdiction, the petition was perfectly maintainable,” said Justice Shinde, adding that the NIA judge “has not justified the order by recording the reasons in suspending his own order.” He rejected NIA’s request to stay the order.
Assistant police inspector (now dismissed) Sachin Waze is in jail for planting explosives in a Scorpio near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence on February 25 and the subsequent murder of vehicle owner Mansukh Hiran. After the controversy broke out, the then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh had sent a letter to the CM alleging then home minister Anil Deshmukh had set an extortion ‘target’ for Waze.