Delhi HC dismisses Sachin Vaze's plea in Antilla bomb scare case

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by former Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze seeking to quash the sanction granted to prosecute him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case.

“The petition is dismissed for lack of territorial jurisdiction,” said a bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Anish Dayal.

According to the report of PTI, the Centre had earlier opposed the petition by Waze on grounds that it was not maintainable before the Delhi High Court and it should have been filed before the Bombay High Court as everything related to the case happened in Mumbai.

Waze had claimed that the Delhi High Court has the 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 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, PTI report stated.

It also sought to quash and set aside the sanction order of September 2, 2021 passed by the Centre and grant consequential relief. The MHA had given the sanction for prosecution of Waze in September last year in the case of an SUV with explosives being found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai and the murder of businessman Hiren Mansukh.