New Delhi, January 17
Former Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the sanction granted to prosecute him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia bomb scare case.
The plea came up before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani which asked the counsel for Waze to place before it copies of relevant judgements being relied upon by him and listed the matter for further hearing on January 24.
The Centre raised preliminary objections to the maintainability of the petition on the ground that it should have been filed before Bombay High Court as everything related to the case happened in Mumbai.
Advocate Puneet Bali, representing Waze, submitted that the Delhi High Court has territorial jurisdiction over the issue as the sanction order was passed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is located in the national capital.
The plea, filed through advocate Chaitanya Sharma, sought to strike down section 15(1) of the UAPA, relating to the terrorist act, claiming that it is ultra vires of Article 14 (equality before law) and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the constitution.
It also sought to quash and set aside the sanction order of September 2, 2021, passed by the Centre and grant consequential reliefs.
The MHA had given the sanction for prosecution of Waze in September last year in the case of an SUV with explosives found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai and the murder of businessman Hiren Mansukh.
According to a release of NIA, the charge sheet was filed under various provisions of the IPC, including murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, and negligent conduct with respect to explosive substances and under the provisions of the UAPA, Explosive Substances Act, and Arms Act.
The SUV was found near Antilia on February 25, 2021. Mansukh, who had claimed that the vehicle had been stolen from his possession, was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5 last year.
