Thane, Feb 14: The Special Court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) in Thane has granted bail to a medical practitioner arrested for allegedly outraging the modesty of a 15-year-old girl who had approached him with complaints of chest pain.
The court, presided over by Judge R. U. Malvankar, observed that prima facie the alleged act appeared to have been committed during a clinical assessment and that there was minimal possibility of the accused repeating the alleged act with the victim.
“Ex facie, the investigation in this case is complete. The accused appeared at the time the charge-sheet was filed. As such, there is no question of any further custodial interrogation. The offence is not punishable with death or life imprisonment. There are no other criminal antecedents reported against the accused. Considering that, prima facie, the act was allegedly committed during a clinical assessment of the victim, there is a minimal possibility of the accused repeating the alleged act with the victim. Furthermore, the possibility of tampering with evidence is remote. Therefore, there is no merit in detaining the accused behind bars, especially as the trial may take considerable time due to the pendency of older criminal cases,” the court held.
Allegations and defence submissions
A case was registered against the accused, Salman Khan, a medical practitioner, following an FIR lodged on December 20, 2025, by the 15-year-old victim.
According to the complaint, the girl was admitted to Ammar Plus Multispecialty Hospital at Shilphata when the accused approached her at around 1:00 am in response to her complaint of chest pain.
It was alleged that at approximately 2:00 am, when he returned to check whether her chest pain had subsided, he inappropriately touched her while examining her chest, leading to the registration of the FIR.
The accused, however, contended that he has been falsely implicated. He submitted that the alleged act occurred during a medical examination conducted in the discharge of his professional duties, as the victim was suffering from pneumonia and chest pain.
According to the defence, the examination was a necessary part of assessing chest pain in pneumonia cases and was not carried out with any sexual or improper intent.
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The applicant further argued that the incident allegedly occurred in a hospital setting where nursing staff and other personnel are ordinarily present. He also submitted that since the investigation is complete and the charge-sheet has been filed, custodial interrogation is no longer required.
Taking these submissions into account, the court granted bail, noting that continued detention was not warranted at this stage.
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