Doctors’ assault: HC stays bail to corporator, orders surrender
Bombay High Court stays bail granted to Shiv Sena corporator accused of assaulting doctors and nurses at a civic hospital in Thane district, after acting on suo motu cognisance of news reports.
- The Bombay High Court stayed the bail granted to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and directed him to surrender before police.
- The High Court described the lower court’s bail order as perverse and too lightly reasoned.
- News reports triggered the Bombay High Court’s suo motu cognisance in the case.
What happened
The Bombay High Court stayed the bail granted to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who is accused of assaulting doctors and nurses at a civic hospital in Thane district. The court acted on suo motu cognisance of news reports and asked Mhatre to surrender before police by Sunday evening.
The bench criticised the lower court’s bail order as perverse and too lightly reasoned. Mhatre and his aides were arrested after a newborn was advised to be shifted to another facility, and the bench noted his history of assault cases while fixing further hearing on July 21.
UPSC can use this case to test the limits of judicial discretion in bail, the role of higher courts in correcting lower-court orders, and the legal and ethical issues around attacks on doctors and nurses in public institutions.
