New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Bombay High Court was “fully justified” in taking suo motu cognisance and staying the bail granted by a trial court to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, accused of assaulting doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane district in July.
The observations came from the bench which was hearing the pleas, including the one filed by Mhatre, challenging the orders of the high court. Mhatre, a corporator of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation , has challenged the conditions imposed by the high court while granting bail. On July 18, taking suo motu cognisance, the high court had stayed the bail granted by the lower court and asked Mhatre to surrender before the police. Later, on August 7, the high court granted bail to Mhatre and ordered that the trial be fast-tracked and completed in a time-bound manner.
During the hearing before the apex court on Tuesday, one of the counsel appearing for the petitioners argued that the order passed by the high court on July 18 was wrong. The high court had also granted bail to three other accused in the alleged assault case that had triggered a massive outrage.
“This is a case where the high court is fully justified in taking suo motu cognisance and staying the bail,” the bench said.
