Saif Ali Khan Assault Case: Businessman Refuses to Settle Out of Court

In further trouble for actor Saif Ali Khan, the complainant in the 2012 Taj brawl case has refused to settle the matter mutually out of court.

"I have moved an application before the mediator saying that the complainant (Iqbal Mir Sharma) doesn't want to go for mediation but wants trial to go ahead in the case," public prosecutor Wajid Sheikh told PTI. The matter will now be referred to a trial court, he added.

The court had in June this year referred the brawl case to a mediator.

Mr Khan and his two friends - Bilal Amrohi and Shakkel Ladak - were arrested following a complaint filed by Mr Sharma, an NRI businessman, after an alleged fight at a restaurant inside Taj Hotel on February 22, 2012.

The three were later released on bail. The court has framed charges against them under Sections 325 (assault) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code. They have pleaded innocence.

According to police, when Mr Sharma protested the raucous chatter of the actor and his friends, Mr Khan allegedly threatened him and subsequently punched Sharma in the nose, fracturing it.

The businessman also accused Mr Khan and his friends of hitting his father-in-law Raman Patel.

Mr Khan, on the other hand, said that Mr Sharma made provocative statements and used abusive language against the women accompanying him (including his wife actor Kareena Kapoor and her sister Karishma) which led to the spat.