MUMBAI: A special court on Monday refused to discharge a 98-year-old bedridden cancer survivor and neurocognitive disorder patient from a 30-year-old alleged bank fraud case worth ₹11.89 crore on account of the serious charges against him of conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
The court has, however, postponed the trial of Dr Moreshwar Patwardhan, a former chairman of the Bank of Maharashtra, till he “regains sound mind and is deemed fit for trial”.
Special judge BY Phad passed the order on Monday, in response to Dr Patwardhan’s plea for discharge from the case on grounds of permanent physical and mental incapacity to stand trial.
The accused’s counsel, advocates Amit Gharte and Suraj Sulambe, pointed out that the 98-year-old is a cancer survivor; he has undergone multiple surgeries and suffers from irreversible medical conditions like a major neurocognitive disorder and permanent loss of vision, the lawyers told the court.
The court had earlier ordered the BJ Government Medical College and Sassoon Hospital, Pune to examine Dr Patwardhan and submit a report. Accordingly, Dr Sachin Mahajan, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the medical college, had examined the 98-year-old at his residence and submitted a report to the court.
In court, Dr Mahajan testified that Dr Patwardhan was bedridden, disoriented and suffered from significant memory impairment. He suffered from a major neurocognitive disorder, the doctor noted, and opined that he was “unfit to stand trial due to the nature and severity of his illness”.
{{/usCountry}}In court, Dr Mahajan testified that Dr Patwardhan was bedridden, disoriented and suffered from significant memory impairment. He suffered from a major neurocognitive disorder, the doctor noted, and opined that he was “unfit to stand trial due to the nature and severity of his illness”.
{{/usCountry}}The special court accepted that Dr Patwardhan was of “unsound mind and currently incapable of mounting a defence”. His trial must be postponed until he regains sound mind, the court said, but found it inappropriate to discharge him in light of the serious charges against him.
Accordingly, the court separated Dr Patwardhan’s trial from that of the remaining 23 accused in the 1996 case, and gave liberty to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a supplementary charge-sheet against him if “becomes of sound mind (again) and fit to stand trial in the future.”
The CBI had originally roped in 29 accused in the ₹11.89-crore fraud case, including Dr Patwardhan. But the case against five of them has abated due to their death during pendency of the inordinately prolonged trial.
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