Hyderabad, July 18 -- The controversy surrounding the grant of bail to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre in the alleged assault (I say alleged despite video evidence because a court will have to evaluate and pronounce upon the material) on doctors at a municipal hospital is not merely another episode in India's crowded criminal calendar.

It raises a deeper constitutional question: what message does the justice system convey when allegations of organised violence against healthcare professionals are met with what appears, at least outwardly, to be a routine exercise of judicial discretion? The issue is not whether bail is in principle the rule and jail the exception. That proposition is well settled.

A judgment from the Supreme Court of...