- The Bombay High Court rebused Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre for assaulting doctors
- The court refused to lift the stay on Mhatre’s bail granted earlier by a sessions court
- The corporator had attacked medical staff after a hospital refused newborn admission
The Bombay High Court has come down heavily on Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre for assaulting two doctors in the Thane district of Maharashtra and refused to lift a stay on a bail earlier granted to him by a sessions court.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad also noted that Mhatre had assaulted a woman doctor among others, and it was "surprising" that they survived.
"You have assaulted women and doctors. It is surprising that they survived...let him be inside for some more time," the bench said.
Read: Sena Corporator Who Assaulted Doctors Surrenders Day After Court Cancels Bail
Appearing for Mhatre, advocate Sana Raees Khan submitted that his client was a 73-year-old man suffering from several ailments and that the police did not need his custody.
However, the court questioned Mhatre's petition seeking bail on the grounds of his age and observed that he was seen behaving like a 25-year-old in the assault video.
"You are involved in social work. Your duty is to serve people, not assault them," the court said. It also questioned if Mhatre would also attack a lawyer if one refused to represent him.
The hearing in the matter will continue on Monday.
Read: "Terrified, Getting Threats": Thane Doctor Assaulted By Sena Corporator
Mhatre and his supporters on July 6 barged into a hospital in Dombivli and assaulted two doctors, including a woman, and other staff after a family claimed that the hospital had refused to admit their newborn since their NICU facility was full.
Speaking to NDTV, he showed no remorse for his actions and denied attacking the woman. "I slapped her phone as she was not listening to us, I only tried to get her off the phone," he insisted.
Mhatre was arrested two days later, only to be granted bail by a sessions court on July 14. The high court on Saturday cancelled his bail and asked him to surrender.
Complying with the high court order, he surrendered before the police last Sunday and was sent to judicial custody till August 3 by a court in Kalyan.
