Encyclopedia-like discharge plea but no merit: Mumbai Court refuses to close Antilia case against Sachin Waze

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai has refused to close the case against former police officer Sachin Hindurao Waze in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren murder case [Sachin Waze v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.]

In an order passed on July 15, special judge Chakor Shrikrishna Baviskar said that the 157‑page plea by Waze seeking discharge in the matter contained “everything under the sun” except merit.

He described Waze’s plea as “an apt but unwanted example” of prolonging the trial.

“Waze has pleaded everything under the sun which includes facts from his perception, philosophy as per his convenience, law as he picks and chooses, case laws on which reliance is misplaced, irrelevant rhymes and absurd rhetorics, maxims and mayhems and what not, masquerading maverick in mawkish and maudlin manner,” the judge said.

The judge quipped that a few more lines would have allowed it to defeat Britannica Encyclopedia.

“With a few lines more, and I fear that, this discharge application would have defeated Britannica Encyclopedia. What is missed is just a merit. Hence, the application is rejected,” the Court held. 

Waze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March 2021 for his alleged involvement in planting an explosives-laden vehicle near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence.

In the application, Waze called himself a ‘noted police officer’ with an ‘impeccable career’ and alleged that his honest and dynamic performance festered inter‑departmental jealousy and rivalry. 

He attacked the NIA case as suffering from want of jurisdiction, pointing to alleged procedural lapses, lack of scientific evidence, contradictions about motive, mysterious CCTV footage and “invalid Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) sanctions”.

He contended that even the death of businessman Mansukh Hiran had not been established as homicidal and no material showed terror being struck in anyone to justify UAPA charges.

In its 145-page reply, NIA countered that his application was devoid of merit and empahsised that Waze played a key role in the alleged conspiracy to plant explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and to murder Hiran. 

The agency pointed to oral, technical and electronic evidence, including call detail records, tower locations and CCTV footage, and said there were no coincidences in the pattern of contacts among the accused before and after the incident.

Judge Baviskar recorded that the charge‑sheet runs to over 14,000 pages, with statements of more than 300 witnesses and extensive electronic evidence. He found more than sufficient material to frame charges against Waze. 

"On all the touchstones settled sky high up till now, I do not have any hesitation or even a slightest doubt that, more than sufficient material exists on record to frame the charge against Waze for the alleged offences," the judge concluded.

He emphasised that at the discharge stage, the court must proceed on the assumption that the prosecution material is prima facie true and cannot conduct a roving inquiry into its truthfulness.

The order also noted the fact that Waze’s earlier application seeking to drop proceedings for want of jurisdiction and proper sanction was rejected by the same court in October 2025.

Further, his petition before the Bombay High Court challenging sanctions under UAPA was dismissed in March 2025. 

Another petition before the Delhi High Court attacking UAPA provisions as unconstitutional was also rejected in 2022.

The judge observed that these repeated, parallel challenges had failed and held that it could not grant Waze relief. 

Advocate Sajal Yadav appeared for Waze.

Special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves appeared for NIA.

[Read order]