Antilia bomb threat case: SC grants bail to former police officer Pradeep Sharma

Pradeep Sharma, a former police officer who was detained in connection with the death of businessman Mansukh Hiran and the Antilia bomb fear case, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Sharma’s appeal against the Bombay High Court decision to deny him bail was granted in January 2023 by a bench chaired by Justice A S Bopanna.

According to relevant parts of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Arms Act, Sharma was detained in June 2021 and charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, causing disappearance, and destruction of evidence.

The NIA investigation into the case, as well as Sharma’s presence in the office of the then-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in March 2021, were both called into question by a division bench of the Bombay High Court led by Justice Revati Mohite-Dere on January 23 while dismissing Sharma’s appeal against the special court’s denial of his bail request.

The high court had expressed its regret at the NIA’s investigation of the case. Sharma then appealed the high court’s decision to the Supreme Court.The Thane resident Hiran, who was connected to the SUV parked outside Antilia, the home of businessman Mukesh Ambani on February 25, 2021, was the target of a murder plot, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The primary accused and fired policeman Sachin Waze is accused of parking it.