Payal Tadvi suicide: Bombay HC adjourns hearing in bail plea of three accused doctors

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned for one week the hearing in the bail plea filed by three accused doctors in connection with the suicide of their junior Payal Tadvi at a government hospital.

A single bench of Justice DN Naidu was hearing the bail plea filed by the accused doctors -- Hema Ahuja, Ankita Khandelwal, and Bhakti Mehre.

Mumbai police's Crime Branch had, on July 23, filed a charge sheet against the trio.

Speaking to ANI, counsel representing Tadvi's family, Sadavarte Gunaratne, said that the accused are trying to indulge in "bench hunting".

"The matter was adjourned because the lawyer, who appeared on the behalf of the accused, told the court that the charge sheet is in Marathi and that it will not be able to understand the language," said Gunaratne.

The lawyer further asserted that for the first time the court proceeding was video-recorded under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The court had, on July 25, ordered the video recording of the proceedings. It also directed the registry to make the necessary arrangement regarding the same.

Tadvi, who belonged to the Scheduled Tribe community, ended her life in her hostel room at BYL Nair Hospital here on May 22, allegedly after facing harassment from her seniors due to her caste.

The Forensic Department had recovered a suicide note left behind by Tadvi on her phone.

The post-mortem examination report of Tadvi's death revealed the evidence of a ligature mark on her neck. Her family alleged that three of her seniors ragged and hurled casteist abuses at her, forcing her to take the extreme step.

The trio was booked under the charges of abetment of suicide and various provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act in connection with this.