Granting him bail on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and barring his entry in Gujarat, Special CBI court Judge K R Upadhyaya said, "Application (of bail) is allowed."
However, the ex-IPS officer has been told to mark his presence before that court on every working Saturday. He is also barred from leaving the country.
Vanzara, during his stint in the city crime branch as head of State Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), was made an accused in fake encounter cases of Soharabuddin Sheikh, Tulsi Prajapati and Ishrat Jahan, by the CBI.
With this order, Vanzara will walk free after seven and half years. His advocate V D Gajjar told mediapersons, "Acchhe din aa gaye hain (Good days have come)".
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Vanzara was Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in the city crime branch, when a Mumbra-based college girl Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with Gujarat police on the outskirts of the city on June 15, 2004.
The CBI, which took over probe from the Gujarat High Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), had filed chargesheet in August 2013 saying that the encounter was fake and executed in the joint operation by the city crime branch and Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB).
Vanzara had filed for bail last year and submitted that he is behind bars for more than seven years and as the chargesheet was filed, he should be released on bail.
Gajjar also submitted before the CBI court that Vanzara had merely followed the orders of his "superiors".
Prosecution agency CBI opposed the bail plea saying Vanzara's release can be a challenge to civil society and the suspended police officer can influence the trial of the encounter case.