The Bombay High Court, in a special sitting on Saturday, stayed the magisterial order granting bail to Shiv Sena councillor Ramesh Mhatre, who was arrested for assaulting doctors and staff members at a civic hospital in Dombivali along with his associates. The court ordered Mhatre to surrender to the police on Sunday.
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The assault followed a complaint that a nine-month pregnant woman with pregnancy-related complications was denied admission because there were no beds available in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the civic hospital.
The incident led to widespread outrage from the medical fraternity after a CCTV video of the assault went viral on social media.
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A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad stayed the order granting bail to Mhatre, “considering the gravity and seriousness of the issue and the perversity” noticed in the lower court order.
The court kept the order passed by the Kalyan court on July 14, which granted bail to Mhatre, in abeyance until further orders.
The bench ordered Mhatre to surrender to the Vishnunagar police station by 5pm Sunday, where a first information report is registered against him and his three associates. The court said the police can take appropriate legal steps, including attaching his immovable properties, if he fails to surrender and remains untraceable.
The court took suo-motu cognisance of the Kalyan court orders granting bail to Mhatre despite a hue and cry over the assault on civic doctors. Apart from Mhatre, the court also named the other accused in the case, Ramesh Pawar, Pramod Nikam and Akshay Karande as respondents to the suo-motu petition, which is posted for further hearing on July 22.
Mhatre and his three accomplices were arrested on July 8, a day after they allegedly attacked two doctors and other staff members at Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital in Dombivli.
The Maharashtra unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has announced a 24-hour strike of medical services for July 20 to protest the assault and also threatened an indefinite suspension of medical services starting August 9 if the state failed to take concrete steps on their demands to ensure the safety and security of doctors and all healthcare workers.
Apprehending disruption of essential services, the court has appealed to the medical fraternity to reconsider their decision.
