Supreme Court Cancels Bail of Shiv Sena Corporator in Thane Doctor Assault Case
Supreme Court stays Bombay High Court bail order for Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre in a Thane hospital assault case, orders surrender in three days.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Bombay High Court order granting bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, accused of assaulting doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane district, and directed him to surrender within three days.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta admitted the Maharashtra government's appeal for hearing. The court observed that the message must go out clearly that the medical fraternity cannot be touched, noting that doctors serve the public and cannot be attacked in this manner.
The Bench also pointed to a similar incident involving the same political party after the Mhatre episode.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mhatre, submitted that two witnesses had already been examined and that the complainant, a woman doctor, was scheduled to be examined on October 3. He said the trial had begun and there was no obstruction. He further argued that the 19 criminal cases against his client, including the present matter, were politically motivated and that Mhatre had been acquitted in 18 of them.
The court noted that the incident showed Mhatre's involvement in 19 criminal cases. While requesting a speedy trial as directed by the High Court, the Bench said it was not commenting on that direction.
On August 7, the High Court had granted bail to Mhatre and four other accused, and ordered that the trial be fast-tracked and completed in a time-bound manner.
The alleged assault occurred on July 6, when Mhatre and the other accused gathered at Shastri Nagar Hospital and attacked doctors following an argument over an alleged delay in treating a woman patient. Family members of the pregnant woman had accused hospital staff of delaying her treatment. The incident had triggered widespread outrage.