A court granted bail to bookie Naresh Gaur before putting a stay on his bail order (Representational)
Cricket bookie Naresh Gaur, arrested in the Antilia bomb scare case, has approached the Bombay High Court challenging a special court's order last month granting him bail that was later stayed for 25 days.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Gaur in March this year, accusing him of being involved in the Antilia bomb scare case and in the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
On November 20, a special NIA court granted him bail after observing that prima facie, he did not seem to be aware of the conspiracy.
Gaur was the first accused in the case to be granted bail. The special court, however, stayed its own order for 25 days after the prosecution requested for the same saying it wished to challenge the grant of bail before an appellate court.
Gaur then approached the High Court through his counsel Aniket Nikam, challenging the stay on his bail order.
In his plea, Gaur stated that the special court had granted him bail after observing that he did not have a role in the conspiracy to kill Mansukh Hiran or in the Antilia bomb scare case.
He further argued that he had merely bought a SIM card that was subsequently used by former Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in the said cases. Gaur claimed that he had no idea about the larger conspiracy and had never been directly contacted by Waze.
The bookie has sought, among other things, that the stay on his bail order is quashed and set aside.
The High Court is likely to hear the plea next week.