Mumbai: Court grants bail to man held for assaulting doctor after father’s death

A SESSIONS court here on Monday granted bail to a man arrested for assaulting a doctor at a public hospital last month, even as it noted that the conduct of the accused was “highly objectionable”.

The accused and his brother were arrested after they allegedly manhandled the doctor at the city’s Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, better known as Sion Hospital, after their father died during treatment for a kidney ailment on June 25.

The bail plea of the brother of the accused will be heard next week.

The complaint lodged by the doctor at Sion Hospital said that the accused and his brother had begun an argument with him after being informed about their father’s death, adding they held his collar and manhandled him.

“On going through the police report, it appears that the applicant and his brother were strident towards the treating doctor due to the sad demise of their father at the age of 66 years. The conduct of the applicant towards the treating doctor is highly objectionable. They cannot intrude in the hospital administration. If one’s life is lost at a hospital due to some disease, the doctor cannot be assaulted. There is a legal way to vindicate the grievance about any negligent act,” the court said. The court allowed bail to the man considering that he had lost his father and that he had no criminal antecedents.
The Sion Police had arrested the two brothers under various sections, including 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 504 (intentional insult), and 34 (common intent), of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).