The Bombay High Court on Wednesday criticised Palghar police over alleged inaction in a case involving disruption and an assault on medical personnel at a private hospital, warning that the investigation could be transferred to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch if the local police were not interested in pursuing it.
The case concerns allegations that Shiv Sena members from the Shinde faction created a disturbance at a Palghar hospital while seeking treatment for an injured Govinda participant. A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata said the police had failed to conduct an adequate investigation in what it described as a sensitive matter involving an attack on medical officers.
The court observed that the police’s alleged failure to act promptly had allowed accused persons to remain absconding. It questioned why immediate action was not taken after the first information report was registered and why the police had not pursued the nine accused who had been identified.
Palghar Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh informed the court that 10 people had been named in the FIR. Rahul Ghart, identified in the report as the Shiv Sena city chief, has been arrested and is in police custody. The remaining nine accused are absconding, according to the information presented before the bench.
The court questioned why the police had not moved quickly to arrest the accused after registering the case. It also said that the police’s conduct indicated a lack of timely investigation and that the accused had been given an opportunity to flee because of the alleged inaction.
The bench reportedly referred to an earlier incident at a municipal hospital in Dombivli in July, in which Shiv Sena councillor Ramesh Sukarya Mhatre was accused of assaulting doctors. The court said the police appeared not to have learnt from that incident and asked whether the Thane episode had not been sufficient to prompt action.
The observations place the handling of violence or intimidation involving medical staff under scrutiny. The court’s criticism focused on the pace of the investigation, the failure to arrest the identified accused and the responsibility of the local police to act after an FIR is registered.
The bench warned that, if the Palghar police were unwilling to investigate the case effectively, it could hand the matter to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. The court’s next steps will determine whether the investigation remains with the Palghar police or is transferred to another agency.
