Supreme Court Cancels Bail Granted To Shiv Sena’s Ramesh Mhatre In Dombivli Hospital Assault Case, Orders Surrender

Dombivli: Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) corporator Ramesh Mhatre suffered a major setback on Monday after the Supreme Court cancelled/stayed the bail granted to him by the Bombay High Court in connection with the alleged assault on doctors and nurses at Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli. The Supreme Court directed Mhatre to surrender before the authorities within three days, paving the way for his return to judicial custody.

Medical Safety Emphasised

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta admitted the Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging the Bombay High Court’s August 7 order granting bail to Mhatre. During the hearing, the court stressed the need to protect medical professionals and said that a clear message should go out that the “medical fraternity cannot be touched. The Bench also observed that doctors serve the public and cannot be subjected to such attacks.

The case relates to an alleged assault at the civic-run Shastri Nagar Hospital on July 6, following a dispute over the treatment of a pregnant woman. According to the prosecution, Mhatre and other accused allegedly assaulted doctors, nurses and hospital staff after an argument over the treatment of the patient. The incident had triggered widespread concern among medical professionals.

Bail was granted with stringent conditions

Mhatre was initially granted bail by a Kalyan court on July 14. The Bombay High Court subsequently intervened and cancelled/stayed the relief before later granting him bail on August 7 with stringent conditions. The High Court had directed that the trial be fast-tracked and imposed conditions including that Mhatre remain outside Maharashtra until the filing of the chargesheet.

The Maharashtra government subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the bail. On September 7, the Supreme Court had issued notice to Mhatre and sought his response to the State’s plea. The matter was then listed for hearing on September 28. At the earlier hearing, the Bench had expressed concern over repeated attacks on doctors and said that such incidents required a deterrent message.

Chargesheet filed in the case

The police have filed a chargesheet running into more than 1,800 pages in the case. Mhatre and four other accused have been booked in connection with the alleged assault and related offences. The case involves allegations including assault, obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their duties, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and outraging the modesty of a woman. Charges under the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act and Maharashtra Police Act have also been invoked, according to the case proceedings.

The fifth accused, Sadhana Sanjay Karande, whose name surfaced in connection with the incident involving the pregnant woman, was recently denied bail by the Kalyan court. She has been in judicial custody in the case. Police have cited CCTV footage and witness statements as part of the material collected during the investigation. A recent report put the chargesheet at 1,836 pages and said it contained statements of 37 witnesses.

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