The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Monday told the special court that Manish Soni, arrested in connection with the recovery of an explosives-laden SUV from outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani and the subsequent murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, has given a confessional statement before a magistrate.

However, the magistrate "inadvertently" remanded the accused to judicial custody, the court was told. Soni was supposed to be produced before the special court on Monday. "However, as Soni could not be produced till 5.30 pm, they (the NIA) applied to remand him to judicial custody as the accused had been produced before a magistrate for recording a statement under section 164 (confession statements) of CrPC. He was remanded to jail custody wrongly," Soni's lawyer Rahul Arote said.