Bombay High Court pauses Sachin Vaze bail order pending NIA appeal

The Bombay High Court has stayed an order granting dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze bail in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases. The National Investigation Agency appealed against the bail decision. A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale on Wednesday ordered that the bail ruling would not operate for the time being and adjourned the matter until October 7.

The appeal reached that bench after other judges declined to hear it. Justice Bharati Dangre recused herself because of an earlier order she had passed in a case involving Vaze and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Justice Ashish Chavan also did not hear the matter.

Justice Dangre said he had appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Deshmukh case. The two judges subsequently passed an order recusing themselves. The appeal had been mentioned on Tuesday before Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale, whose bench had the roster for the matter.

Justice Kotwal recused himself, saying advocate Manoj Mohite had represented Vaze and that he did not hear matters involving a party represented by Mohite, with whom he had worked as an advocate. The NIA may now mention the appeal before Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and ask him to constitute a bench to hear it. The supplied report does not give details of the lower court’s reasoning in granting bail.

For now, the High Court’s interim order prevents the bail decision from taking effect while the NIA’s challenge is considered. The next hearing is scheduled for October 7, when the court is expected to address the appeal after the recusal-related changes to the bench.