The Supreme Court on Monday (September 7, 2026) sought a response from Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, accused of assaulting doctors at a Thane hospital in July, on a plea challenging his release on bail, while observing that such people don't deserve to roam the streets.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to Mr. Mhatre and sought his reply in three weeks on the plea filed by the State.

"These people don't deserve to roam on the streets. Things are going from bad to worse. There was another incident yesterday in Palghar. Same group of people. Again assaulting doctors. A message should go, and it should be a deterrent for others in the society," the bench observed while issuing notice.

The matter is listed for next hearing on September 28.

The observations came from the bench, which was hearing pleas, including the one filed by Mr. Mhatre, challenging the orders of the Bombay High Court imposing bail conditions on him. The Shiv Sena corporator was later allowed by the top court to withdraw his appeal.

The Supreme Court had earlier said the high court was "fully justified" in taking suo motu cognisance and staying the bail granted by a trial court to Mr. Mhatre and also observed that those attacking doctors do not deserve bail.

On July 18, the high court had stayed the bail granted by the lower court, called the order "perverse" and asked Mr. Mhatre to surrender before the police.

Later, on August 7, the high court granted bail to Mr. Mhatre and ordered that the trial be fast-tracked and completed in a time-bound manner.

The high court also granted bail to three other accused in the alleged assault case that had triggered a massive outrage.

Mr. Mhatre, a corporator of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), had challenged the conditions imposed by the high court while granting bail.

On July 6, Mr. Mhatre and other accused gathered at the hospital and allegedly assaulted the doctors after an argument over the purported delay in the treatment of a woman patient.

The incident took place at Shastri Nagar Hospital after family members of the pregnant woman accused hospital staff of delaying treatment.

The court in Thane on July 14 granted bail to Mr. Mhatre, which was later stayed by the high court.

The High Court granted bail to Mr. Mhatre and some other accused in the case on August 7 and imposed strict conditions on them. It had also ordered them to stay outside Maharashtra until the chargesheet in the case is filed.