Dr Payal Tadvi suicide case: HC relaxes bail conditions for 2 accused doctors

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday partially modified the bail conditions imposed upon two of the three doctors named accused in the 2019 suicide case of medical student Payal Tadvi and permitted them to leave the city.

A bench of Justice SK Shinde allowed an interim application filed by the two doctors, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal.

Also Read: Dr Payal Tadvi Suicide Case: Bombay HC stays Medical Council inquiry against 2 accused doctors

The bench permitted them to leave Mumbai and go to their respective hometowns after noting that the Post-Graduate (PG) medical course that the two had been pursuing at the civic-run BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai had concluded on December 10 and hence, they could not stay on in the hospital hostel anymore.

Mehare, Khandelwal, and another accused, also a doctor, were arrested by the city police in 2019 on charges of abetting the suicide of Tadvi. They were also booked under provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In August 2019, the HC had granted all the three accused bail and imposed a set of conditions on them, including not leaving Mumbai without the court's permission until framing of charges in the case.

Sometime ago, Mehare and Khandelwal had approached the HC seeking a modification of the 'not to leave Mumbai' condition, saying they were not permitted to stay on in the hospital hostel after completion of their course and were without an alternate place of residence in the city.

The prosecution objected to their plea, saying if the two doctors are allowed to leave the city, they might not appear in lower court during trial.

The HC, however, dismissed their objection.

"Till date the trial has not commenced. Indisputably, after their post-graduation course gets over, applicants (Mehare and Khandelwal) have to vacate the hostel premises. In the circumstances, the applicants cannot be compelled to stay in

Mumbai until the trial is concluded," the HC said.

"Instead, I deem it appropriate to permit the applicants to stay at their native place and obtain undertaking that they shall remain present in the trial, unless their presence is exempted by the trial court," the bench said.

The HC also directed both the accused doctors to submit their respective permanent residential addresses and phone numbers to the trial court.

The accused doctors were Tadvi's senior colleagues at Nair Hospital.

Tadvi had ended her life in hostel room in May 2019 and in a suicide note found by the police, she had blamed the three senior doctors for taking the extreme step. 

Also Read: Supreme Court relief: 3 doctors accused in Dr Payal Tadvi Suicide case allowed to resume PG medical education