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The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Bombay High Courts order granting bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who is accused of assaulting doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane, and directed him to surrender within three days.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the case involved a serious issue concerning the safety of medical professionals and stressed that doctors should not be subjected to such attacks. The message should go out loud and clear that the medical fraternity cannot be touched. They serve people and cannot be attacked in this manner, the bench observed. The bench also took note of another incident involving a member of the same political party which allegedly occurred after the incident involving Mhatre. Justice Mehta observed that the present case was serious, as it involved interference with public order, and said the Court wanted to send a clear message that no one should attack doctors. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Maharashtra government against the High Courts August 7 order granting bail to Mhatre. The incident occurred on July 6 at Shastri Nagar Hospital after relatives of a pregnant woman allegedly accused the hospital staff of delaying her treatment. Mhatre and four other accused allegedly went to the hospital following an altercation and assaulted doctors. The High Court granted bail to Mhatre and the four other accused on August 7 and directed that the trial be completed within a time-bound period. It also imposed conditions requiring the accused to remain outside Maharashtra until the filing of the chargesheet. Mhatre had earlier been granted bail by a Thane court on July 15. On September 7, the apex court expressed strong concern over repeated assaults on doctors in Maharashtra, observing that people sharing the same ideology were allegedly involved in such incidents. The top court was then hearing Mhatres challenge to stringent conditions imposed by the Bombay High Court while granting him relief in the Dombivli assault case. The bench had indicated that it was inclined to cancel Mhatres bail over the alleged July 6 assault at the Shastri Nagar General Hospital in Dombivli. Mhatre subsequently withdrew his appeal. The bench then took up the Maharashtra governments challenge to the High Court order granting him bail and issued notice to Mhatre and other accused and granted three weeks to respond. (ANI)
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