Bombay HC grants bail to BJP corporator in 2020 protest case, Shiv Sena corporator in doctors assault

The Story in Brief

A day after a special trial court sent him to judicial custody for arriving 15 minutes late to a hearing, the Bombay High Court granted bail to BJP corporator Akash Purohit, son of late BJP leader Raj Purohit. The High Court noted his undertaking to attend the trial court on each date and cooperate for speedy disposal, ordering his release on a Rs 50,000 PR bond and attendance at Colaba police station for two hours monthly till trial ends. Purohit was booked alongside others for protesting a 2020 electricity bill hike during lockdown, facing charges under the IPC, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and Epidemic Diseases Act for assaulting a public servant, unlawful assembly, and rioting.

Separately, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and four others arrested for assaulting doctors at a Thane municipal hospital in July. The bench noted an elected corporator assaulting voters is "an assault on the fabric of democracy" but allowed bail as investigation was near completion and the accused had spent time behind bars. It imposed stringent conditions: the accused must remain outside Maharashtra until charges are framed, and the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation must ensure police protection for doctors. Mhatre was arrested after a video of the attack on medics over a denied admission for a pregnant woman went viral.