Antilia bomb scare case: Special court rejects former cop Pradeep Sharma’s discharge plea

In January 2023, the Bombay High Court dismissed Sharma’s bail plea and expressed anguish about NIA probe in the case as well as Sharma’s presence in the office of the then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in March 2021. It questioned NIA’s probe of conspiracy on parking of the Scorpio vehicle near the Ambani’s residence and planting gelatin sticks in the said vehicle between February 24 and 25, 2021.

Thereafter, Sharma approached the Supreme Court in appeal, which granted him bail in August, 2023.

Sharma, in his discharge application before the special court, argued that there was no case made out to frame charges against him and mere suspicion raised by the investigating agency was not sufficient, therefore, he should be discharged from the case.

However, the prosecution opposed the plea and said that the entire chain of events in the matter and evidence collected by NIA proved Sharma’s role, who had connived with the co-accused. Therefore, the prosecution said witnesses need to be examined in the trial to ascertain if there is a case against the accused and he cannot be discharged from the case.

Special NIA judge AM Patil perused material on record, including call data records between Sharma and Waze, and noted that the entire case of prosecution against Sharma was based on circumstantial evidence and the two were in contact with each other even prior to laying of gelatin sticks. The court said it will have to consider possibilities in the case and total effect of the material produced by prosecution during the trial.

It said that in the present case, prima facie it is true that the larger conspiracy is hatched by the accused in secrecy, but the prosecution has to independently prove it. The special court, while rejecting the plea, found that at present stage, the witnesses and documentary evidence did not look fabricated and their truthfulness and acceptability can be considered only at the stage of trial.