Doctors assault case: Bombay HC grants bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, orders speedy trial

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and four other accused in the alleged assault on doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane district while directing that the trial be conducted on a fasttrack basis and completed in a timebound mannerThe court imposed stringent bail conditions including directing all the accused to remain outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet is filed It also laid down strict timelines for the investigation filing of the chargesheet and commencement of the trialHigh Court grants bail with strict conditionsA division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad granted bail to Mhatre and the four coaccused observing that the investigation had progressed substantially and the accused had already spent time in judicial custodyThe bench however imposed several conditions to ensure that the investigation and trial proceed without interferenceThe court directed all the accused to remain outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet is filed After the trial court frames charges they may return to the state but have been restrained from contacting prosecution witnesses or attempting to influence the investigationCourt condemns assault on doctorsWhile granting relief the High Court made strong observations on the conduct of elected representativesThe bench observed that an elected corporator is expected to serve the people and said that an assault on citizens by a public representative undermines democratic valuesIf such an elected person assaults his own voters then it is an assault on the fabric of the democracy itself the court observedAt the same time the bench said that since the investigation was progressing rapidly and the accused had remained behind bars for some time they were entitled to be considered for bailHC fixes timelines for investigation and trialTo ensure an expeditious trial the High Court directed the Maharashtra government to appoint a Special Public Prosecutor within 10 daysThe bench also ordered the police to complete the investigation after obtaining reports from the State Forensic Science Laboratory within 12 working days and to file the chargesheet within five days thereafterFurther the trial court has been directed to frame charges within one week of the filing of the chargesheetThe High Court also instructed both the prosecution and defence to avoid seeking unnecessary adjournments once the trial begins so that proceedings can be concluded without avoidable delaysHC had earlier stayed lower courts bail orderMhatre a corporator of the KalyanDombivli Municipal Corporation KDMC was initially granted bail by a court in Thane district on July 15However on July 18 the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter stayed the bail order and directed Mhatre to surrender before the policeThe High Court had described the lower courts order as perverse observing that the magistrate had failed to adequately consider the seriousness of the allegations and Mhatres criminal antecedentsThe bench noted that 18 assault cases had previously been registered against Mhatre although he had been acquitted in 17 of themIncident triggered outrage among medical fraternityThe case relates to an incident on July 6 when Mhatre and the other accused allegedly entered Shastri Nagar Hospital in Thane district and assaulted doctors following an argument over the alleged delay in treating a pregnant womanAccording to police the confrontation began after the womans family accused hospital staff of delaying medical treatment following which the accused allegedly assaulted doctors on dutyThe incident sparked widespread outrage among the medical fraternity with doctors associations demanding stricter protection for healthcare workers and stronger action against those responsible for attacks on medical professionalsWith inputs from PTI