Payal Tadvi suicide: State removes special public prosecutor from case

MUMBAI: The state government has removed special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat from the May 2019 Payal Tadvi suicide case. The notification from the state has come almost a week after a sessions court allowed a plea, moved by Gharat, to add one more accused in the abetment to suicide case.

The notification was issued by the Law and Judiciary department of the state on March 7, 2025. It read: “In view of recommendation received from home department, the Government of Maharashtra hereby cancels the appointment of Adv Pradip D Gharat as ‘Special Public Prosecutor’ for conducting the cases in sessions court.”

In his place, the state has appointed advocate Mahesh Manohar Mule as special public prosecutor. The government directed the appointment using the power under Rule 14 of the Maharashtra Law Officers (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Remuneration) Rules, 1984, which outlines the duties of government pleaders and public prosecutors, including advising the government and conducting cases on behalf of the state.

Dr Payal Tadvi’s husband, Dr Salman Tadvi opposed the new appointment. “Court made Dr Ching Ling an accused and the law and judiciary department removed Pradeep Gharat sir from our case. This is not acceptable,” he said.

The special court, constituted under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on February 28, ordered Dr Ching Ling Chiang, the former Head of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department at Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, to be added as an accused in the case linked to the suicide of 26-year-old Dr Tadvi. The court passed the order in response to the application moved by SPP Pradip Gharat in November last year seeking to include Dr Chiang as an additional accused.

The prosecution had claimed that despite repeated complaints from Tadvi and her family, Dr Chiang had dismissed their concerns, saying such incidents were common in medical colleges.

On May 22, 2019, Tadvi, a postgraduate medical student belonging to a tribal community, died by suicide after being allegedly subjected to severe harassment and casteist abuse by three senior students at the medical college. The three seniors - Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Meher and Ankita Khandelwal - were named as accused by the Mumbai police and arrested in May 2019 under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act. They are currently out on bail.

The case is currently in the stage of framing of charges, which marks the beginning of a trial. The prosecution’s plea was filed under section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc), which gives the court the power to proceed against other persons appearing to be guilty of the offence.

Dr Salman said that the matter is already delayed. “The order shows that the government is not with us. We are now losing hopes,” he added.