Maharashtra govt challenges Salman Khan acquittal in Supreme Court

by FP Staff Jan 23, 2016 03:23 IST

#BombayHC #ConnectTheDots #Fadnavis #HitAndRunCase #Maharashtra #RavindraPatil #salmankhan

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The Maharashtra government moved the Supreme Court on Friday, challenging Bollywood star Salman Khan's acquittal in a 2002 hit-and-run case by the Bombay High Court in December 2015.

The actor was convicted in May 2015 by a trial court of killing a man with his SUV following a drinking session on the night of 28 September, 2002. Khan's Toyota Land Cruiser ran over five men sleeping outside American Express bakery in Mumbai's Bandra locality.

The High Court had shot down the trial court's ruling on December 10, and acquitted Khan of all charges and scrapped his five-year jail term. The high court said that the prosecution was not able to sufficiently establish that the 49-year-old star was behind the wheel that night or was drunk at the time of the accident.

The appeal, filed by state counsel Nishant R Katneshwarkar, criticizes the HC ruling on the ground that it ignored Salman's conduct who did not make any attempt to report the accident to the police.

The state is questioning how the actor took the defence, for the first time in 12 years, that his driver was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident, reports The Hindustan Times.

The HC had ignored the crucial statement of the injured witness who had testified Salman was on the driver's seat, the state said. It insisted the court should have taken into account the evidence of the actor's bodyguard, Ravindra Patil. Patil had died by the time trial started in the case.

The Indian Express reports that Maharashtra's chief standing counsel Nishant R Katneshwarkar filed the petition. Here, the state of Maharashtra is refuting the HC finding that the probe was conducted to weaken the prosecution's case.

The state police version in the new petition is that the Bombay High Court has "not appreciated the evidence on record in its proper perspective."

The Maharashtra government petition disputes the High Court view that the investigation was careless and faulty. The State government claims that enough witnesses were examined to frame charges against Salman Khan.

The appeal said evidence of complainant Ravindra Patil, who was with Salman in the Toyota Land Cruiser, was legally tenable and its rejection was wrong. Patil was the actor's bodyguard who had said Salman was driving drunk and had ignored his warnings.

Patil died of tuberculosis in 2007. The petition says the prosecution could not have been indicted for non-examination of Kamaal Khan in the trial court, who was also in the SUV on September 28, 2002. It said the HC had also ignored the "conduct" of Salman as he did not make any attempt to report the incident to police or help the victims.