From our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday extended by four weeks the interim bail granted to former Mumbai Police encounter specialist Pradeep Shaarma, who was arrested in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case and the killing of businessm Mansukh Hiran, in view of his wife’s surgery.
A vacation ench of Justices A S Bopanna and Prashant Kumar Mishra extended the relief to Sharma granted earlier this month after senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for him, said hs wife could not be operated upon as the concerned doctor was abroad.
Dave said: “The doctor was travelling througout the month of June, setting to return to India in the first week of July after which the surgery will be conducted.
Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj, opposed the extension saying no soecific date is mentioned for the surgery. He said this is a serious case and important witnesses are to b examined. Time and again extension could not be granted,” he argued.
Justice Bopanna said these are small issues and since the doctor was not in the country, the surgery could not be taken up.
“From the medical certificate issued by the Lilavati Hospital, Mumbi, dated May 27, the wife of the petitioner has been advised to undergo a reversal of gastric bypass surgery.
The allegation against Sharma, who alng with police officers Daya Nayak, Vijay Salaskar, and Ravindranath Angre, was a member of the Mumbai Police encounter squad that killed over 300 criminals in numerous encounters. He had allegedly helped his former colleague Waze in eliminating Hiran. Salaskar had died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
Sharma had approacheed gthe Bombay High Court last year challenging February 2022 order of a special NIA court rejecting his bail plea.
