MUMBAI: Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and four other accused in the alleged assault of doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane district were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Friday, with the court directing that the trial be completed in a time-bound manner.The bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad directed all the accused to stay outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet is filed. They will be allowed to return only after the trial court frames charges in the case.The HC also directed the Maharashtra government to appoint a special public prosecutor for the trial within 10 days.The bench noted that an elected corporator is believed to be “for the people and by the people”.“If such an elected person assaults his own voters, then it is an assault on the fabric of the democracy itself,” HC said.The court, however, said the investigation was progressing rapidly and the accused had already spent some time behind bars.“However, considering the fact that the investigation is now being carried out at a fast pace and the accused have now spent some time behind bars, we feel bail can be granted,” the court said.The court directed the police to complete their investigation and obtain reports from the State Forensic Science Laboratory within 12 working days. The chargesheet must be filed within five days thereafter.“The trial court shall frame charges against the accused within one week after filing of chargesheet. Once the trial commences, the prosecution and defence shall refrain from seeking adjournments on unreasonable and trivial grounds,” HC said.The court also made it clear that the accused must not contact witnesses or tamper with evidence after being permitted to return to Maharashtra.“The accused will be allowed to return to Maharashtra only when the trial court frames charges in the case. Even then, they shall not contact the witnesses in the case or tamper with any evidence,” HC said.Mhatre, a corporator of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), had earlier secured bail from a Thane district court on July 15. The Bombay High Court subsequently took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the matter on July 18 and stayed the lower court’s bail order, directing him to surrender before the police. He later surrendered and remained in judicial custody.The HC had called the Kalyan court’s order “perverse”, observing that the magistrate court had taken the matter lightly and failed to consider Mhatre’s criminal antecedents. The high court noted that 18 assault cases had been registered against Mhatre in the past, though he had been acquitted in 17.The alleged assault took place on July 6 at Shastri Nagar Hospital after Mhatre and the other accused gathered there following an argument over the alleged delay in treating a pregnant woman. Her family members had accused hospital staff of delaying treatment, following which the confrontation allegedly escalated into an assault on doctors.
