The Bombay High Court has strongly criticized the Palghar police over investigative laxity after nine out of ten accused individuals remained absconding in connection with the violent assault on medical staff and vandalism at a private hospital. A division bench comprising Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata questioned how suspects could vanish immediately following the registration of a crime and warned that the matter could be transferred to the Mumbai police crime branch if local authorities failed to execute proper arrests.
The judicial rebuke came during the hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation originating from a previous medical assault case in Thane district's Dombivli region during July. During the proceedings, the bench scrutinized the progress of the active investigation into the September 6 incident at Relief Hospital in Palghar, where medical employees were allegedly attacked and property damaged following a dispute over CT scans for injured individuals.
Judicial Scrutiny and Investigation Failures
During the court session, the bench directly addressed Palghar Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh regarding the whereabouts of the suspects and the overall effectiveness of the local manhunt. Pointing to the prolonged absence of the nine unidentified and identified suspects, Justice Gadkari remarked on the failure of local law enforcement to maintain operational control or secure quick apprehensions following the lodging of the formal police complaint.
Public prosecutor Shishir Hiray informed the court that ten individuals were named in the First Information Report, out of which only Shiv Sena Palghar city chief Rahul Gharat had been arrested. When questioned whether the arrested leader had disclosed the identities of the remaining unknown participants, the prosecutor confirmed that no such disclosures had been made during his two successive periods of police custody.
Connection to Earlier Thane Hospital Assault
The judges expressed acute frustration that local authorities failed to learn critical operational lessons from an analogous attack in July, when medical personnel at a public hospital in Dombivli were similarly targeted by political workers. In both instances, individuals affiliated with the Shiv Sena party were identified among the accused perpetrators, drawing sharp judicial warnings about the recurring vulnerability of healthcare facilities.
Senior advocate S U Kamdar, appearing on behalf of the Indian Medical Association, drew attention to the sensitive nature of the case by noting that one of the absconding individuals is the son of a sitting legislative assembly member. The bench demanded an explanation as to how suspects in a high-profile hospital vandalism case could evade law enforcement within their own local jurisdiction.
Procedural Lapses and Case Diary Violations
Beyond the missing suspects, the High Court identified serious administrative and procedural irregularities in how the investigation was documented. The bench sharply rebuked the police department for failing to maintain a proper case diary in continued pagination, which the court identified as a blatant breach of statutory provisions under criminal procedure codes, previous judicial orders, and circulars issued by the Director General of Police.
Because the investigative documents were tendered across the bar on loose papers rather than through formal affidavits, the court rejected the submission and ordered the public prosecutor to seek direct instructions from the DGP. The prosecutor subsequently reported that the state police chief, who was visiting Delhi, would review the complete official record upon his return to determine appropriate disciplinary action against the investigating officer.
Pending Proceedings and Next Judicial Steps
In addition to reviewing the Palghar investigation, the court received an update regarding the earlier Dombivli hospital attack, where the public prosecutor confirmed that a formal chargesheet had been filed and a special public prosecutor appointed. The bench maintained strict supervision over both concurrent matters to ensure institutional accountability regarding medical safety.
The High Court has posted both the Palghar Relief Hospital assault proceedings and the related Dombivli suo motu petition for further hearing on Friday. The state administration faces mounting pressure to produce complete records, demonstrate concrete arrest records, and address the administrative shortcomings highlighted by the bench.
