‘Hospitalised in custody, but set free on bail’: Bombay High Court stays Sena corporator’s relief in doctors’ assault case

The court stayed the bail granted to Mhatre as well as his co-accused, directed the corporator to surrender before the Vishnu Nagar police latest by 5 pm on Sunday and initiated a suo motu writ petition. “In the event he does not surrender or he is not reachable, the authorities will be at liberty to follow the due procedure for initiating steps for attaching his immovable properties,” the court said.

The High Court observed that over the last 36 years, 18 criminal cases had been registered against Mhatre, some involving grave offences, and that he had been acquitted in 17 of them.

“We find from the order granting bail that the magistrate did not even notice that the accused was not even interrogated after recording his first statement. In a case where accused Mhatre led four more accused and attacked three doctors in a Municipal Hospital, showing his fury against doctors, it could not have been taken lightly by the magistrate, more so in the backdrop of 18 offences registered against him in the past,” the HC noted.

“Considering the overall impact of the conduct of Mhatre and the effect that his actions have had on the medical professionals, especially the doctors working in municipal and government hospitals who are employees of the state government, prima facie we do not find that the magistrate could have passed an order which does not even deal with the antecedents of the accused and the assault he caused on the three doctors,” it added.

While in custody, Mhatre was admitted to the Thane District Government Hospital on the night of July 13 after complaining of medical issues, including high blood pressure. He was granted bail the next day. The HC noted, “When the release memo was issued and Mhatre was set at liberty, he was discharged from the hospital and was allowed to go.”

The incident that prompted the court’s intervention took place on July 6 at the Municipal Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli after doctors advised the family of a pregnant woman to shift her to another hospital because all Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds were occupied. The patient’s family allegedly contacted Mhatre, who represents the Kopar ward, following which he and his associates allegedly assaulted three doctors. Mhatre was later arrested along with three others.

The incident triggered protests by doctors across Maharashtra and prompted the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to call for a statewide strike from July 20.

Appealing to doctors to reconsider the strike, the High Court said it was doing so “in the larger interest of society and service to mankind.”

When the High Court sought to know why the police had not challenged the bail order earlier, Advocate General Milind Sathe and Chief Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray, appearing for the state, submitted that the trial court’s order had been made available only on the night of July 17. The Kalyan court, while granting bail, had observed that Mhatre had one kidney and suffered from multiple health ailments.