Mumbai, Mar 12 (PTI) A Mumbai court on Thursday declined to discharge two brothers accused of assaulting doctors at a city hospital following the death of their father in 2021, ruling there was sufficient material to frame charges against them.
The discharge plea of brothers Roshan and Rajesh Gupta was rejected by Additional Sessions Judge S B Dige.
The case stemmed from an FIR lodged on June 26, 2021, on a police complaint by Dr Rahul Dhadse, medical officer at a hospital in Mumbai’s Sion area.
According to the prosecution, the father of Gupta brothers was admitted to the hospital’s emergency ward, where Dr Dhadse was on duty at the time, but died during treatment.
The accused duo allegedly confronted the medical staff, slapped Dr Dhadse and tore his shirt after the death of their father. A second doctor was allegedly pushed when she attempted to intervene, the prosecution said.
Defence lawyer Taufik Ansari argued that the applicants were at the hospital for the treatment of their father and did not have a motive to commit a crime.
The brothers were innocent and their alleged unruly conduct could not be corroborated by statements of eyewitnesses, Ansari told the court during hearing on the discharge petition.
The police, represented by additional public prosecutor Pankaj Chavhan, opposed the plea, asserting that sufficient material existed to show the applicants used criminal force to deter public servants from performing their duties.
In his conclusion, Judge Dige made a reference to Section 227 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows for discharge of an accused only when there is “not sufficient ground” for proceeding.
“On perusal of record… available material is sufficient to proceed against the accused for framing of charges,” the court ruled.
The judge directed that charges against the duo be framed at the next hearing of the case.
Discharge is a pre-trial stage that comes after a chargesheet has been filed in a case, but before charges are framed by court against an accused. Under this legal remedy, an accused is entitled to be discharged from a case if the evidence provided to the court is not sufficient to prove the offence. PTI AVI RSY
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