SC Urges Detention for Maharashtra Doctor Attackers

The Supreme Court on Monday expressed grave concern over escalating assaults on doctors and hospital staff in Maharashtra, describing the situation as a serious law and public order issue. The court indicated that individuals involved in such attacks do not deserve to roam freely on the streets and should be detained. The remarks came during a hearing concerning Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Sukrya Mhatre, who is accused of assaulting medical personnel at the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation's Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli on July 6. Mhatre had approached the Supreme Court challenging stringent conditions imposed by the Bombay High Court while granting him bail. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted a recent incident in Palghar on Sunday, September 6, where Shiv Sena workers allegedly threatened and assaulted hospital staff. While Mhatre's senior counsel, Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the Palghar attackers were not the same individuals involved in the Dombivli incident, the bench clarified it was referring to those with the "same ideology.