Bombay High Court cancels bail of Shiv Sena corporator

The Bombay High Court intervened on Saturday, July 18, to cancel the bail granted to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and four associates, ordering Mhatre to surrender to police by 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 19. The court acted on its own initiative after a magistrate in Kalyan granted bail earlier in the week, a decision the High Court sharply criticized for failing to consider Mhatre's extensive criminal record and the gravity of the alleged assault on medical staff.

The case stems from an incident on July 6 at the Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital in Dombivli, Maharashtra. According to police reports, the family of a pregnant woman contacted Mhatre, a municipal corporator, after doctors advised transferring her due to a lack of available neonatal intensive care unit beds. Mhatre, affiliated with the Shiv Sena faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, allegedly arrived at the hospital with supporters and assaulted three doctors. Surveillance footage circulating on social media appeared to show the group punching and slapping hospital staff.

Mhatre surrendered to police on July 8 and was later arrested. He was granted bail by the Kalyan magistrate on July 14 on a...