The Non-availability of a cardiologist in a 338-bed Thane civic hospital “shocked” the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, prompting the judge to ask what will happen if some patient gets a heart attack.

When the authorities replied that in such cases the patient would be taken to the nearest hospital where a cardiologist is available, the judge retorted that by that time the patient would be dead.

“A big hospital without a cardiologist is shocking and unbelievable,” said vacation judge Justice S J Kathawala, while hearing a bail application filed by Thane-based builder Rashmikant Shah, who is accused in a Rs 80-crore fraud case.

Shah is seeking bail on medical grounds. He had moved the vacation court on October 21 and his case was heard by vacation judge Mridula Bhatkar.

The court had then directed a panel of three doctors, including a cardiologist, to be constituted by the superintendent of Thane civil hospital to examine Rashmikant’s claims of a “serious illness”, and submit a report to the court on October 28.

The court, after going through the report on Wednesday, noted that the hospital has neither examined the accused on October 22 or 23 as directed by the court nor did they have a cardiologist in the panel.

Justice Kathawala said that court order’s cannot be taken lightly and issued a showcasue notice to the civil surgeon of the hospital, asking him why the accused was not examined on October 22 or 23 and why not even till date. “Nothing prevented the surgeon from calling a cardiologist from other government hospitals,” the court observed. “What needs to be deprecated is the conduct of the superintendent of the hospital,” the judge said.

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