IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY Digitally signed KANCHAN by KANCHAN VINOD V MI AN YO ED KAR CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION MAYEKAR Date: 2025.05.08

20:08:23 +0530 ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 1163 OF 2025 RAVINDRA BALIRAM DEOKAR ….. APPLICANT VERSUS THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ANR ..RESPONDENTS Senior Advocate Sudeep Pasbola a/w. Adv. Divakar Rai, Adv. Aditya Rai, Adv. Nitin Rai, Adv. Saurabh Tamhankar, Adv. Vayukumar Tiwari i/b. Adv. Ramchandra Rane for the Applicant.

Ms. Supriya Kak, A.P.P. for the State.

Adv. Usha Andewar for the Respondent No.2.

API Yashwant Chavan, Bhoiwada Police Station.

CORAM : RAJESH S. PATIL, J.

RESERVED ON : 2^nd MAY, 2025 PRONOUNCED ON : 8^th MAY, 2025 ORDER :-

This application is filed for pre-arrest bail under Section

482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in connection with Crime No. 98/2025 registered with Bhoiwada Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 74, 75, and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

2. Based on the complaint filed, an FIR has been lodged against the present applicant. The applicant preferred an anticipatory bail application before the Sessions Court, which was rejected. Hence, the present pre-arrest bail application has been filed before this Court. 3. It is the contention of the applicant that he is the Additional Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at KEM Hospital, Mumbai. The hospital is run by the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. The victims are the Assistant Professors of KEM Hospital who have alleged that the applicant used to harass them by making offensive comments and inappropriately touching them. The applicant is a man of a repute, staying with his wife and two daughters in the quarters of the hospital. The complaint has been lodged due to personal grudge and internal politics. The applicant does not have any kind of criminal antecedents. Therefore, the custody of the present applicant would not be needed. The applicant has already surrendered his mobile phone to the Investigating Officer (IO), and as regards the second mobile phone to be handed over to the IO, the same could not be done since the IO refused to accept the mobile phone from the wife of the applicant. The FIR has been lodged very recently and as per the allegation made in the FIR, the offences are alleged to be committed from the year 2021. There is a huge delay in filing the FIR. Due to the false complaint filed, the present applicant has been suspended from service on 15^th April 2025, by the Municipal Corporation. Presuming the allegations are true for a minute, none of the victims told the applicant to stop the alleged activities. The applicant even today is ready to handover the second mobile phone to the IO.

4. The offences involved in the crime are punishable for a maximum term of five years. There is delay in filing the FIR. The photographs which are enclosed to the anticipatory bail application would suggest that the victims have happily clicked photographs with the present applicant. On perusal of the entire allegations, it can be seen that except two allegations, none of the alleged allegations are of serious nature. The said two allegations are with regard to the incident allegedly happened in the cabin of the applicant and the second incident as alleged that the applicant invited one Junior resident Doctor to a nearby food-joint. Due to objectionable behaviour of Dr.Phatak, the wife of the present applicant has also filed a complaint against Dr.Phatak. The custody of the present applicant is not at all necessary.

5. On behalf of the complainant, Ms.Usha Andewar made her submissions. She submitted that atleast six female doctors have filed their complaints against the present applicant, firstly with the hospital authority and thereafter with the police. Before lodging their complaint with the police, they had also met the wife of the present applicant. They raised their concerns about the improper behaviour of the applicant with them. How