MUMBAI: In a rare case, the Bombay High Court suspended the five-year jail term of Salman Khan in the 2002 hit-and-run case on Friday pending appeal as the single-judge bench advised the Bollywood star to apply bail with a Rs 30,000 bond and seek permission to travel abroad if desires.
Khan, whose interim bail ends on Friday, was not present in the court though. The judgement was followed by wild celebrations by his supporters and fans across the world.
What Justice Abhay Thipsay said:
“We can fix a date in June or July whether he is guilty or not.”
“We cannot take pleasure in the fact that someone is in custody. There is no law that says if there is alcohol (in blood) it is culpable homicide.”
“Even on the basis that there is sufficient evidence saying the accused was driving, several other conditions have to be taken into consideration.”
“I want to know how many witnesses deposed before the sessions court and the magistrate court. I want to know whether the witnesses have had after thoughts.”
Defence argument:
Khan’s lawyer Amit Desai said the sessions judge had ignored crucial facts and there were no eye witnesses in the case, citing the dispute over if there were three to four persons present in the car.
“The witness also says that two (more) persons were also there (apart from Salman) and the police constable, but when he was cross-examined he says: ‘I do not know where the two went’,” Desai told the court.
“One of the prosecution witnesses, a person who owned a shop next to the spot of the accident, had stated that he saw Salman coming out of the car.”
2002 hit-and-run case:
Salman Khan has been accused of running a car over five people, sleeping on footpath, near his home in Mumbai when he was returning from a party drunk and driving the car in 2002.
Ravindra Patil, a Maharashtra Police constable who was posted as bodyguard of Salman Khan during the incident, had filed a complaint after the accident. He was quoted by media publications, saying:
“On September 27, 2002, at 9.30pm, the accused and Kamaal Khan came out of a room at their residence and told me they were going to Rain Bar, Juhu. The accused had a Toyota Land Cruiser car with the registration number MH 01 DA 32. The accused was driving the car.
“They asked me to wait outside, while the accused and Kamaal went inside the hotel. The bodyguard of Sohail Khan also met me there. After a few hours, the accused and Kamaal came out. The accused sat in the driver’s seat and I was sitting next to him. Kamaal was sitting in the rear.”
“We went to JW Marriott. I was made to wait outside again. They came out at 2.15am. When the accused sat behind the wheel, I asked him whether he would be driving the car. He ignored me. The accused was driving the car at a speed of 90-100km/hour. Before reaching the Hill Road junction, I told the accused to slow down as a right turn was coming up. He ignored me again. The accused lost control of the car while taking a turn and drove right on to the footpath.”
“The car crashed into American Express bakery and broke its shutter. There was a lot of shouting and people had gathered around us. I showed my identity car and told the crowd I was a policeman, which pacified them. The accused and Kamaal ran away from the spot. I went to the car to check and saw that one person was seriously injured. There were four others who were stuck under the car.”
“The incident took place because the car was in speed and the accused, in a drunken state, could not control the car while taking the turn.”
