The Bombay High Court has suspended the 5-year sentence handed out to Bollywood star Salman Khan in the 2002 hit-and-run case and granted him bail pending his appeal against conviction.
“He has been on bail for a long time and his liberty was not curtailed. Normally, in such cases, the appeal is admitted and an accused is granted bail,” Justice Abhay Thipsay said, while staying his conviction and granting him bail. The judge directed him to surrender before the trial court and furnish a fresh bail bond of Rs 30,000 which he has complied with and gets bail formally.
Observing that the application of the charge of culpable homicide requires serious consideration, Justice Abhay Thipsay asked public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde, “Why will this case not be a case of only rash driving?” The judge observed that “even on the basis that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the applicant was driving the vehicle in question, at the material time, certainly, a number of arguable points have been raised, which need serious consideration.” The judge further observed that “among other things, whether the offence allegedly committed by the applicant would amount to an offence punishable under Section 304 II of the IPC and not merely an offence punishable under Section 304 A of the IPC, would also need examination.”
“This would be of quite some importance as the offence punishable under Section 304 A of IPC is bailable, and invites a lesser punishment,” he said.
Soon after the judge made it clear that the appeal was admitted, Salman's counsel Amit Desai launched into a blitzkrieg against blunders that the probe, prosecution and the judgment itself revealed. He began by disputing the conclusion that the car had only three occupants. “Ravindra Patil, the complainant, said there were three persons in the car, we said four. The fourth was the driver Ashok Singh. It was known to the prosecution from 2002 itself,” Desai said, questioning the criticism over the “late introduction” of the driver as witness in the case. “It is not as if Salman Khan took this as an afterthought,” he said.
The other point Desai stressed on was the complete acceptance by sessions judge D W Deshpande of Patil's deposition as witness before the magistrate during the earlier trial for the lesser charge of rash driving. “Patil was a reluctant witness, because he was asked to say certain things. His deposition was so artificial. His statement about Salman being drunk or driving at a speed of 90-100 kmph was demolished during his cross-examination, yet the judge accepted it.”
Salman later furnished s bail bond of Rs 30,000 and gave an undertaking that he would fulfil all the bail conditions. The High Court will give his team the next course of action to be followed on June 15. The case is not expected to come up for hearing before July, at the earliest.
Earlier, the sessions judge Deshpande found Salman guilty under the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment. Judge Deshpande while pronouncing the verdict said, “You were driving the car, without a licence and you were under the influence of alcohol. All charges have been proved against you.” When the judge asked the actor if he wanted to say something, Khan said, “I respect what you decide, and my lawyer will speak on my behalf.”
