MSRTC strike case: Advocate Jayshri Patil, 3 others granted bail by Mumbai court

The Mumbai sessions court on Saturday granted anticipatory bail to lawyer Jayshri Patil along with three other MSRTC employees.

A Mumbai sessions court granted anticipatory bail to advocate Jayshri Patil, wife of advocate Gunratan Sadavarte, in connection with the attack on Silver oak the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) workers had staged a protest outside the NCP chief’s home on April 8 as their demands were not being met despite them protesting for over six months. The protests had turned violent with the workers pelting stones and slippers.

Apart from Patil, the court also granted bail to three more MSRTC employees who were behind bars after being arrested by Mumbai police.Earlier this month, Patil had been granted interim protection. In the final order passed by Additional sessions judge R M Sadrani, the court said that Patil would be let off on furnishing Rs 20,000 personal bond and had to visit the police station as and when required.

Thousands of MSRTC workers, who had not been receiving their salaries on time, had been on a strike since October 2021 demanding that the loss-making corporation should be merged with the state government and they be treated at par with the state government employees..

Sadavarte and Patil were helping the state bus employees in their legal battle. According to the Mumbai police, Sadavarte had earlier said that he was working pro bono for the employees, whereas investigations revealed that he had taken money from each of them.

Last week, the same court had granted bail to 115 MSRTC employees who had protested outside Silver Oak along with their lawyer Gunratan Sadavarte.