Bombay HC grants partial custody of accused in Payal Tadvi suicide to Mumbai Crime Branch

The Bombay High Court today refused to grant full custody of the three doctors accused of abetting the suicide of Mumbai doctor Payal Tadvi to the Mumbai Crime Branch..The Bench of Justice SS Shinde, however, granted partial custody of the three doctors. Third year resident doctors Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal will be under custody from Thursday to Sunday, at specified times on each day..The Crime Branch will have custody of the three resident doctors from 2 pm to 6 pm on Thursday and from 9 am to 6 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday..Payal, a second-year gynaecology student of TN Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, had committed suicide in her hostel room on May 22. It was alleged that three of her seniors had hurled casteist abuses at Tadvi, who belongs to a Scheduled Tribe..The accused have been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Anti-Ragging Act, the Information Technology Act and abetment to suicide under the Indian Penal Code..On May 31, the case was heard by the city civil and sessions court and the accused were remanded in judicial custody. Subsequently, the Mumbai Crime Branch approached the Bombay High Court claiming that it did not get the opportunity to conduct its own probe in the case. To this end, they filed an application before the High Court seeking custody of the three seniors..Meanwhile, the parents of Payal Tadvi have approached the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. The Commission will release a report on the incident..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, Click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.