The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Bombay High Court order granting bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who is accused of assaulting doctors at a Municipal hospital in Thane district. The court directed Mhatre to surrender within three days and said the medical fraternity cannot be attacked.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta admitted the Maharashtra's government appeal against the HIgh Court for hearing.
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"The message should go loud and clear that the medical fraternity cannot be touched. They serve people and cannot be attacked in this manner,” the bench said.
The Supreme Court also noted that a similar incident involving the same party had taken place after the Mhatre episode.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mhatre, told the court that the trial had already begun and two witnesses had been examined. He said the complainant, a woman doctor, is scheduled to depose on October 3 and there had been no obstruction to the proceedings.
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The bench, however, noted that Mhatre had been involved in 19 criminal cases, including the present case.
Dave said the cases were politically motivated and that Mhatre had been acquitted in 18 of them.
The bench sought a speedy trial, as directed by the High Court, but said it was not commenting on that direction.
The Bombay High Court had on August 7 granted bail to Mhatre and ordered that the trial be fast-tracked and completed within a specified timeframe. It had also granted bail to four other accused in the case.
The alleged assault took place on July 6 at Shastri Nagar Hospital after relatives of a pregnant woman accused hospital staff of delaying her treatment. Mhatre and the other accused had gathered at the hospital following an argument over the alleged delay and allegedly assaulted doctors.
