Doctors assault case: Bombay High Court grants bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who is accused of assaulting doctors at a municipal hospital in Thane district. The ruling came on Friday, August 7, 2026, and also ordered the release of four other accused in the case. The court emphasized that an elected corporator is meant to serve the people and expressed concern that Mhatre's actions were an assault on the democratic process.

Mhatre and the other accused were directed to remain outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet is filed, and they are prohibited from contacting witnesses or tampering with evidence. The trial court has been ordered to frame charges within a week after the chargesheet is filed, with the prosecution and defense required to refrain from seeking unreasonable adjournments.

The High Court also appointed a special public prosecutor for the trial within ten days, with the police to file a chargesheet within five days of receiving reports from the State Forensic Science Laboratory. Mhatre, a corporator of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), had previously been granted bail on July 15 by a Thane district court, but the Bombay High Court stayed the bail on July 18, terming the magistrate court's decision as "perverse" and citing Mhatre's history of assault cases.