Doctor assault case: Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre surrenders before Thane trial court
Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, the prime accused in the July doctor assault case in Thane district, surrendered before the trial court on Sunday, October 5, 2026, along with three co-accused, days after the Supreme Court cancelled their bail. Officials said the four were remanded to Adharwadi Jail in Kalyan following their surrender.
Supreme Court sets aside bail, directs surrender
The surrender follows a Supreme Court order dated September 28 that cancelled the bail granted to Mhatre and his associates—Ramesh Pawar, Pramod alias Prakash Nikam, and Akshay Sharad Karande—by the Bombay High Court. The apex court set aside the High Court order and directed the accused to surrender before the trial court by October 5.
In its detailed order, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta underscored that doctors must be able to perform their duties without fear, noting that a medical professional cannot be expected to exercise sound and independent judgment under apprehension of physical violence, intimidation, or coercion. The bench further observed that such violence or coercion cannot become a means of expressing dissatisfaction with medical treatment, securing compliance with a demand, or raising a grievance over an adverse medical outcome.
Custody status of the accused
With Sunday’s development, four of the accused—Mhatre, Pawar, Nikam, and Karande—are in judicial custody at Adharwadi Jail. A fifth accused, Sadhana Sanjay Karande, had already been remanded to judicial custody at the same facility earlier, after a Kalyan court declined her bail application.
Allegations stemming from July incident
The case arises from an incident on July 6 at the Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital in Dombivli, Thane district. Mhatre and three others are accused of assaulting and verbally abusing three doctors, including a woman doctor, who were on duty in the hospital’s labour ward at the time of the alleged attack.
Court’s observations on antecedents
The Supreme Court’s 36-page order also took note of Mhatre’s antecedents, observing that courts below had failed to duly consider his criminal history. According to the order, 18 cases are stated to have been registered against him, including those involving serious offences punishable under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
What’s next
Following the surrender and remand to judicial custody, further proceedings in the trial court are expected to continue in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directives. No immediate timeline for subsequent hearings was indicated by officials.
The apex court’s intervention and its emphatic observations on protecting medical professionals from intimidation highlight the seriousness with which courts are addressing assaults on healthcare workers, particularly in critical care settings such as labour wards.
