The hashtag #SalmanVerdict instantly became a top trending topic on Twitter following the court’s decision, with both fans and critics having their say. But the Bombay High Court ruled that evidence of the injured is not devoid of discrepancies and the prosecution failed to prove truthfulness of the witness who claimed Salman Khan was drunk.
Advertisement
Mumbai: In a huge relief of his lifetime, Bollywood hero Salman Khan is acquitted of all criminal charges against him in the 2002 hit-and-run case.
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who was facing a lengthy prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run, got a reprieve when the Mumbai High Court tossed out his conviction.
A decisive factor appeared to be the judge’s move to reject as “wholly unreliable” the eyewitness statement of the late Ravindra Patil, Salman’s former police bodyguard, recorded by a magistrate in which he had accused the actor of driving drunk.
On May 8, the Bombay High Court stayed execution of the jail term, admitted Salman’s appeal challenging the lower court verdict and granted him bail. Patil was also suspended from the police force.
“Unfortunately there are no witnesses to back his version”, the judge said.
“On basis of evidences produced by the prosecution, the appellant can not be convicted, no matter how differently the common man thinks”, the court said on Thursday.
The HC also held that the prosecution’s complaints about the “belated deposition” by Salman’s driver Ashok Singh could not be acceptable, as a defence witness could only depose after examination of prosecution witnesses was over.
Khan, one of the Indian movie industry s biggest box-office draws, broke down in tears and supporters in the gallery let out hushed cheers as the verdict was delivered.
Advertisement
Khan, one of Bollywood’s most successful actors, is also facing trial in cases of black buck poaching and illegal use of arms in Rajasthan in 1998. The judgement should be challenged in the Supreme Court as the Bombay High court totally reversed the order of the trial court, he added. In the FIR filed soon after the mishap, he did not implicate Salman but in the statement he said that Salman was driving under the influence of liquor. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government will decide on any further course of action in the case after examining the High Court’s verdict.
