29 September,2023 07:25 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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On Friday, a special CBI court in Mumbai granted bail to former policeman Sachin Waze in a 2021 extortion case filed on the complaint of a hotelier.
Sachin Waze had approached the special CBI court in August after being denied bail by a metropolitan magistrate, this year.
Sachin Waze, who is currently in judicial custody in the Antilia bomb scare and other cases, is being probed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Waze was placed under arrest in the extortion case in November 2021.
His bail plea was allowed by special judge S U Hake, informed his lawyer Aarti Kelkar.
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In his plea filed before the special court, Waze contended he is accused of offences for which the maximum sentence is three years in jail. Since he had completed more than half this term as an undertrial prisoner, the plea said he was entitled to bail under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The CBI opposed the plea and told the court the charges invoked against Sachin Waze are punishable.
"The CBI further said Waze has been in judicial custody(in this case) since November 2021. Hence, it is apparent the accused has not undergone detention extending up to half of the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the offence," the CBI submitted.
Earlier, in August 2021, the Goregaon police had registered a case against Sachin Waze, former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and others based on a complaint filed by Bimal Agarwal, hotelier and civic contractor.
Agarwal alleged the accused had threatened to register cases against two bars owned by him and extorted Rs 11.92 lakh. The offence had reportedly taken place between January 2020 and March 2021. The extortion case was later transferred to the CBI following an order by Supreme Court.
(with inputs from PTI)