MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday fast tracked their trial and granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and three others accused behind bars in the July 6 assault on doctors including a woman doctor at a municipal hospital in Dombivli, but all four are to remain outside Maharashtra till the criminal trial begins.The HC Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad imposed the stringent condition after Mhatre’s senior counsel Aabad Ponda submitted that for his release, Mhatre, 73 years old who “learnt a lesson’’ offered to even reside in any other State till the filing of Chargesheet. The HC framed a time-line for probe and prosecution to proceed swiftly and the time to be spent outside Maharashtra for all four would likely be over three weeks.The ACJ Ghuge dictating the order in open court said, “In a democracy an elected representative is by the people and for the people. If he is accused of assaulting his own voters, such an incident is bound to bend the fabric of democracy.’’Police arrested Mhatre on July 8 for allegedly slapping and punching a doctor and assaulting a resident medical officer. A local court granted him bail on July 14, while he was in a hospital. He was released but on July 18 the HC took up the matter suo motu and stayed the bail order for all four, directing Mhatre to surrender. He surrendered on July 19. All four were housed in a Kalyan jail and now all four said they would reside in Goa. Mhatre gave the address of a north Goa resort while the three others represented by advocate Sana Raees Khan would be at a guesthouse, not far. The ACJ joked saying, “Mhatre will have company.’’The HC had in its July 18 order said, …in the labour ward of Shastri Nagar Hospital, Dombivli, a lady doctor and two male doctors were physically brutally assaulted by persons, namely, Ramesh Mhatre, Ramesh Pawar, Pramod alias Prakash Nikam and Akshay Karande… There has been an uproar from the masses… to the beating of doctors on duty.’’ And had said the crime was “more grave because a lady doctor was also assaulted and it is reported that she has resigned out of fear.’’Senior counsel SU Kamdar for Indian Medical Association (IMA) which had given a strike call and withdrawn it after the HC suo motu took up the matter on a special Saturday hearing, said the lady doctor as well as the first informant doctor, be given police protection. Both tendered their resignations which the KDMC hadn’t accepted. The HC was informed and HC asked the corporation to ensure they are protected.Public prosecutor Shishir Hirey on video conferencing and Additional PP said Chargesheet would be filed soon but three witness statements were yet to be recorded before a Magistrate and would be done soon.The HC set out a timeline for the criminal prosecution. It directed that the voice and video samples be sent to the State forensic lab in 3 working days. The report is to then be submitted in about 10 days, post which in 5 days the chargesheet is to be filed.The HC directed the State to appoint a lawyer with large experience as special public prosecutor as the case was “very important’’ and specifically directed that such SPP should not be replaced mid-trial as was noticed in some cases.The HC directed framing of charge –the last pre-trial step—in 7 days after chargesheet is filed. That’s when the trial would commence.Senior counsel Ashok Mundargi had submitted that the trial be expedited to ensure that common citizens are assured that the system works, especially in high profile cases. The HC thus directed its registry to appoint in a week , a Judge from Kalyan courts to preside over as a fast track court in the case.Bail conditions imposed:
- The accused cannot tamper with the investigation and won’t influence the witnesses
- They won’t leave India without prior permission of the court
- Mhatre will surrender passport, Other three said they don’t have a passport
- They should not commit any similar offence and should not prolong or delay the trial
- Neither the defence nor prosecution should seek unnecessary or trivial adjournments
