The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and four others involved in the alleged assault of doctors at a Thane municipal hospital, while simultaneously ordering a fast-tracked trial and imposing stringent conditions, including a temporary ban from Maharashtra.
Key Points
- The Bombay high court granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and four co-accused in a doctor assault case, ordering a fast-tracked trial.
- Strict bail conditions include staying outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet is filed and refraining from contacting witnesses or tampering with evidence.
- The High Court noted that an elected corporator assaulting voters is an "assault on the fabric of democracy itself."
- The court directed the Maharashtra government to appoint a special public prosecutor and mandated the police to file a chargesheet within a specific timeframe.
- The HC had previously taken suo motu cognisance and stayed a lower court's bail order for Mhatre, citing his criminal antecedents.
The Bombay high court on Friday granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, accused of assaulting doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane district, and ordered that the trial be fast-tracked and completed in a time-bound manner.
The high court also granted bail to the four other accused in the alleged assault case that had triggered a massive outrage last month.
Strict Bail Conditions Imposed
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad imposed strict conditions on Mhatre and the other accused and ordered them to stay outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet in the case is filed.
The bench in its order noted that an elected corporator is believed to be "for the people and by the people".
"If such an elected person assaults his own voters, then it is an assault on the fabric of the democracy itself," HC said.
"However, considering the fact that the investigation is now being carried out at a fast pace and the accused have now spent some time behind bars, we feel bail can be granted," the court said.
Directives for Trial Proceedings
The court has ordered all the accused to stay outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet is filed in the case.
"The accused will be allowed to return to Maharashtra only when the trial court frames charges in the case. Even then, they shall not contact the witnesses in the case or tamper with any evidence," HC said.
The bench directed the Maharashtra government to appoint a special public prosecutor for the trial within 10 days.
The police, after completing their probe and receiving reports from the State Forensic Science Laboratory within 12 working days, shall file a chargesheet within five days thereafter, it said.
"The trial court shall frame charges against the accused within one week after filing of chargesheet. Once the trial commences, the prosecution and defence shall refrain from seeking adjournments on unreasonable and trivial grounds," HC said.
Background of the Case
A court in Thane district had granted bail to Mhatre, a corporator of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), on July 15.
Taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance, the Bombay high court had on July 18 stayed the bail granted by the lower court to Mhatre and asked him to surrender before the police.
Mhatre subsequently surrendered and has been in judicial custody.
The HC stayed the order passed by the court in Kalyan, calling it "perverse".
It said the magistrate court took the issue very lightly and did not even consider Mhatre's criminal antecedents.
The high court also took note of the fact that in the past, 18 cases of assault were registered against Mhatre, although he has been acquitted in 17 of them.
On July 6, Mhatre and the other accused gathered at the hospital and assaulted the doctors after an argument over the alleged delay in the treatment of a woman patient.
The incident took place at Shastri Nagar Hospital after family members of the pregnant woman accused hospital staff of delaying treatment.
