Will await State's appeal to cancel Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre’s bail in doctors' assault case: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally said that it was inclined to cancel the bail granted to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre in a case concerning an assault on doctors and hospital staff in Dombivli [Ramesh Sukrya Mahatre vs High Court of Judicature at Bombay]..However, the Court noted that the State is yet to file an appeal seeking cancellation of the bail and asked the State counsel when the same would be done.The State counsel assured the Court that the same will be done by today.The Bombay High Court had earlier taken suo motu note of a trial court's decision to grant Mhatre bail in the case, and stayed the said bail order. However, on August 7, the High Court lifted the stay and allowed Mhatre's release from judicial custody, subject to stringent conditions. Among other bail conditions, the High Court had ordered Mhatre to stay outside Maharashtra till a chargesheet is filed in the case by the police. It had also fixed timelines for completing the investigation and and trial.Mhatre then filed the present appeal before the Supreme Court challenging these directives. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Augustine George Masih heard the petition today.Representing Mhatre, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the High Court was completely wrong to interfere with the trial court's bail order. The Bench disagreed, expressing that it was inclined to cancel Mhatre's bail altogether. "We are inclined to confirm the first order of the High Court staying the grant of bail," said Justice Nath. ."State should have come (with a bail) cancellation (plea)," weighed in a counsel present in court."Yes, you come with a (bail cancellation plea), we will cancel the second order (High Court's bail order)," the Bench replied.The standing counsel for the State of Maharashtra, Siddharth Dharmadhikari, assured the Court that a bail cancellation plea would be filed during the day."Monday you will come or Tuesday?" asked the Court. "Today, we will file," Dharmadhikari said. As the hearing drew to a close, Justice Nath added,"Last evening, while reading the file, I had made my mind to uphold the first order (staying bail) and set aside the second order (granting bail)."However, the Court said that it would await the Maharashtra government's plea seeking the cancellation of Mhatre’s bail before passing its verdict.The Court then posted Mhatre's plea for further consideration on September 7. It added that the State's bail cancellation plea, if filed by then, would also be listed the same day. .Mhatre was arrested in July for allegedly assaulting doctors and hospital staff at the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation's (KMDC) Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli on July 6, 2026.Although a sessions court granted him bail on July 14, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of the same and stayed the bail order after a special sitting on July 18, Saturday.On August 7, the High Court lifted the stay and ordered Mhatre’s release subject to stringent conditions. The High Court also transferred the case to a fast-track court and prescribed timelines for completing the investigation, filing the chargesheet and proceeding with the trial.Mhatre has challenged both High Court orders before the Supreme Court..Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Mhatre, argued today that the manner in which the Bombay High Court intervened in the matter was completely wrong. He questioned how bail could be cancelled by the High Court on a Saturday, without issuing Mhatre notice or hearing him first. “Your Lordships may see what has happened. There cannot be a condition requiring the chargesheet to be filed within ten days. How can such a condition be imposed?” Rohatgi submitted..The top court, however, expressed that the High Court was completely justified in staying the grant of bail. "This is a case where the High Court was fully justified in taking suo motu cognisance and staying the bail order ... This was a case where you should have been put in preventive detention! Medical fraternity was threatened like this! Who will come to the aid of the people at large! Absolutely not justified. You have no respect for the medical fraternity. You cannot imagine the trauma a person faces, when a mob attacks. You cannot hit any random person in a hospital like this," said Justice Nath..Medical fraternity was threatened like this! You cannot hit any random person in a hospital like this.Supreme Court.Rohatgi submitted that Mhatre had no personal animosity against the doctors.“Your video is already viral,” the Court replied.The Bench then said it would wait for the Maharashtra government to file its plea seeking the cancellation of Mhatre’s bail.The Bench listed Mhatre's plea on September 7.It directed that the State’s bail cancellation plea, if filed in the meantime, also be listed on the same day..[Read Live Coverage]