The City Civil and Sessions Court on Monday extended the judicial custody of three senior doctors at BYL Nair Hospital till June 24 in the case for abetting the suicide of 26-year-old, second-year resident doctor Dr. Payal Tadvi.
Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal, all third-year resident doctors, were booked on May 23, a day after Tadvi killed herself in her hostel room on the hospital’s premises.
The trio were sent to judicial custody on May 31 and they subsequently filed their bail pleas. They are currently lodged at Byculla jail. On Monday they broke down in court and told the judge they cannot stay in jail anymore.
The doctors claimed that they were subjected to injustice and requested the judge to hear the arguments pertaining to bail soon. Additional sessions judge R.M. Sadrani adjourned the hearing to June 17 for bail arguments and extended judicial custody till June 24.
They have been booked under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections under the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Crime Branch was scheduled to file its reply on Monday, however they sought some time and it will be filed on June 17.
Advocate Gunratan Sadavarte, appearing for the doctors, told the court that under the SC/ST Act there is a provision to provide video recording of court proceedings. He filed an application before the court which was allowed by the court.