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The Bombay high court on Thursday acquitted Bollywood star Salman Khan of all

charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case, quashing a trial court verdict that held him
guilty of driving his Toyota Land Cruiser over people sleeping on a Bandra footpath.
Justice AR Joshi said the 49-year-old actor cannot be convicted because the
prosecution has failed to prove the charges against Khan on all counts.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government will decide on
further course of action after examining the high court judgment.
Salman, who was sitting with a straight face along with sister Alvira and manager
Reshma, reportedly broke down in tears once the verdict was read. He left the
courtroom after the judge directed him to furnish a fresh surety bond of Rs 25,000
and asked police to return his passport.
The actor had appealed against the sessions courts May order that delivered a five-
year jail sentence after convicting him of culpable homicide not amounting to murder
for running over five people on a pavement, one of whom died later, in Bandra West
on September 28, 2002.
Read: Twitter erupts after #SalmanVerdict
Justice Joshi observed he cannot be convicted on the basis of evidence submitted by
the prosecution. He also pointed out various shortcomings in the investigation and
prosecutions evidence.
Doubt arises over involvement of appellant on charges Investigation was
conducted in a faulty manner with scant regard to procedure, he said after seeking
Salmans presence in court before pronouncing the final verdict.
On Wednesday, the high court opened a window of hope for the popular actor when
it had observed that the prosecution had not convincingly proved he was drunk or at
the wheel of his SUV when the vehicle ran over five people in Bandra West on
September 28, 2002.
The court said on Thursday the prosecution failed to prove the actor was dunk on the
night of the accident.
Read: I wasnt drunk, didnt drive car: Salman Khans statement to court
Justice Joshi also absolved Salman of charges that he fled the accident spot without
securing medical aid to the injured, an offence under the mother vehicles act. He
said circumstances went out of the actors control as a violent crowd had gathered
at the spot.
The judge, who has been dictating the verdict for the past three days, earlier said it
was difficult to rely on the testimony of Ravindra Patil, the police guard who was in
the vehicle at the time of the accident.
He observed that Patil, who died of tuberculosis in 2007, was not a wholly reliable
witness because of the numerous changes in his statements during the course of
the trial, although he was the lone witness to testify that Salman was drunk at the
wheel.
Even if Patils statement has to be considered as partially reliable, there has to be
corroboration in evidence which does not exist in this case, Joshi said.
Read: Hit-and-run case: Complainant Ravindra Patils version of the case
The drink-driving charge looked doubtful since Patil didnt mention it in the FIR filed
hours after the accident but said so a few days later after Salmans blood test
reports came in. Later, he turned hostile and retracted his statement.
Justice Joshi also made crucial observations on the defence witness, Salmans family
driver Ashok Singh, as well as singer-friend Kamaal Khan, who was with the actor in
the car but the prosecution never examined him in court.
Read: 2002 case: Salman had not consumed alcohol, lawyer tells HC
The loyal driver took the blame for the accident after Salman was held guilty in May,
saying he was driving the car on that fateful night. The prosecution dismissed his
confession as 13 years too late.
Justice Joshi didnt agree with the prosecutions argument.
He also took a strong stand against the prosecution for its failure to examine Kamaal
Khan, who was in the country till 2007 before he settled abroad.
The court said the prosecution had failed to prove that the left front tyre of Salmans
car burst after the accident that night. The actor had maintained all along that the
car swung out of control and jumped onto the pavement following a tyre burst on Hill
Road in Bandra.
(With agency inputs)
Ravindra Patil, a police constable deputed for the protection of actor Salman Khan,
was a key prosecution witness in the 2002 hit and run case in which Khans SUV ran
over pavement dwellers in Bandra in September 2002, killing one and injuring four
others.
Patil, who died in 2007, was also a complainant in the case. His deposition was
recorded before the magistrate court and it was primarily on the basis of his
statement the court had ordered to apply the charge of culpable homicide not
amounting to murder. However, he died before the charge was applied.
In his deposition, Patil had stated that Salman Khan was at the wheels of the car
when he came out of JW Marriott hotel with singer Kamal Khan at 2.15 am. Patil
added that he sat near the drivers seat.

Salman acquitted of all charges in 2002 hit-and-run case. Do you


agree with the #SalmanVerdict? Are you satisfied?
Hindustan Times (@htTweets) December 10, 2015
The accused was drunk and was driving his motor car. He was driving his motor car
at the speed of 90 to 100 km/hr. before coming to the junction of hill road, I told the
actor to lower the speed of the car as the right turn is coming. The accused
neglected my say, deposed Patil before the magistrate court.
While the prosecution relied heavily on Patils deposition and asked the court to
consider the deposition recorded before the magistrate as evidence, the defense
opposed it. They contended that Patils evidence cannot be allowed to consider as
they did not have a fair opportunity to cross-examine him after the charge against
the actor is altered.

Ravindra Patil, a police constable who was


appointed as Salman Khans bodyguard,
was important in the prosecutions case.
He died in 2007. (HTfile photo)
defaultValue

Ravindra Patil, a police constable deputed for the protection of actor Salman Khan,
was a key prosecution witness in the 2002 hit and run case in which Khans SUV ran
over pavement dwellers in Bandra in September 2002, killing one and injuring four
others.
Patil, who died in 2007, was also a complainant in the case. His deposition was
recorded before the magistrate court and it was primarily on the basis of his
statement the court had ordered to apply the charge of culpable homicide not
amounting to murder. However, he died before the charge was applied.
In his deposition, Patil had stated that Salman Khan was at the wheels of the car
when he came out of JW Marriott hotel with singer Kamal Khan at 2.15 am. Patil
added that he sat near the drivers seat.

Salman acquitted of all charges in 2002 hit-and-run case. Do you


agree with the #SalmanVerdict? Are you satisfied?
Hindustan Times (@htTweets) December 10, 2015
The accused was drunk and was driving his motor car. He was driving his motor car
at the speed of 90 to 100 km/hr. before coming to the junction of hill road, I told the
actor to lower the speed of the car as the right turn is coming. The accused
neglected my say, deposed Patil before the magistrate court.
While the prosecution relied heavily on Patils deposition and asked the court to
consider the deposition recorded before the magistrate as evidence, the defense
opposed it. They contended that Patils evidence cannot be allowed to consider as
they did not have a fair opportunity to cross-examine him after the charge against
the actor is altered.

Twitter erupted in angry reactions after the Bombay high court acquitted superstar
Salman Khan of killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run crash 13 years ago. The HC
said a lower court had erred in finding Khan guilty of culpable homicide at the end of
his trial in May, when he was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison.
The appeal is allowed and the decision of the trial court is quashed and set aside.
Salman Khan is acquitted of all charges, judge Anil Ramchandra Joshi said. The
judge said the prosecution had failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that
Khan was driving his SUV and under the influence of alcohol when it rammed into a
group of homeless men in suburban Mumbai in 2002.
Labourer Nurulah Mahbob Sharif was killed and several others were injured when the
vehicle ploughed into them at speed as they slept on a street in the suburb of
Bandra West.
Read: Salman Khan acquitted of all charges in 2002 hit-and-run case
A sessions court found Khan guilty of all charges in May, including driving under the
influence and without a licence. While Salmans fans openly showed their happiness
at the judgement, many people expressed their disappointment on social media.
Twitter erupted with angry reactions. Here are a few...

Court: "There's reasonable doubt that you were drunk" Salman


Khan: "There's reasonable doubt that I'm a virgin too lololol"
#SalmanVerdict
Akshar (@AksharPathak) December 10, 2015
RIP JUSTICE #SalmanVerdict
Doc Sharvari (@Miss_Radioo) December 10, 2015
Mark Twain once said: "The law is a system that protects everybody
who can afford a good lawyer." If you know what I mean.
#SalmanVerdict
Alekhya Das (@iAlekhyaDas) December 10, 2015
You guys should have robbed a bank in 2002, today you would have
been rich and free. That year has a charm attached to it.
#SalmanVerdict
Baba Chicago Waley (@BabaGlocal) December 10, 2015
Finally we know ! The car was drunk . #SalmanVerdict
Anjana Om Kashyap (@anjanaomkashyap) December 10, 2015
If car was driving itself, what was the chinkara doing?
#SalmanVerdict
RSJ (@Joshi_Aar) December 10, 2015
If today Aamir says that he wants to leave India, everybody will
support him. #SalmanVerdict
Gazi (@GaziMumbai) December 10, 2015
#SalmanVerdict is like GTA game where Salman was driving the car,
painted it and the cops forgot the crime !!
abaFollowNath (@BabaFollowNath) December 10, 2015
Now I believe Land Cruiser is fully automatic #SalmanVerdict
Vicky Malhotra (@sudharjaao) December 10, 2015
tags

Seeking to pick holes in the prosecutions arguments in the 2002 hit-and-run


case, actor Salman Khans lawyer on Monday told the Bombay high court that
the evidence did not suggest that the actor had consumed alcohol.

It would be wrong to accept that Salman had consumed high content of Bacardi
white rum as alleged by the prosecution, senior counsel Amit Desai said while
arguing an the appeal filed by the actor against his conviction.

All that has emerged in the evidence is that Salman was having a glass of white
colour liquid, said Desai, adding that the glass contained only water and not
alcohol.

The lawyer read out the evidence of Malay Semerendra Bag, the waiter at the
Rain Bar and Restaurant where Salman allegedly had drinks. This witness is not
specific whether it is Salman who gave the order or anyone else, said Desai.

The lawyer pointed out that the witness said he had kept Bacardi and
Cosmopolitan cocktail on the table. But there is no mention of how much.
Whether it is one bottle or two bottles...pegs by pegs, how many times, he said.

Besides, the waiter had said that he had taken orders of Salmans friends and not
the actor himself, Desai noted.

Manager of Rain Bar and restaurant Rizwan Ali Rakhangi had said all tables were
occupied. There are 200 persons there...you cannot find one person from these
tables who can say that Salman was drinking, you have not examined any of the
friends of Salman Khan, said the lawyer.

They (prosecution) went by the media-created bad boy image (of Salman) and
presumed that he was drunk, Desai said.

If an independent witness in the restaurant would have been examined, he would


have told the truth, said Desai.

PW 5 has stated that he has not seen Salman drinking. PW 9, in cross-


examination, said Bacardi rum looks like water. Salman was drinking clear liquid.
PW 9 had stated that clear liquid looks like water...this does not prove in any
manner that Salman was drunk, Desai pointed out.

The prosecutions case is that that Salman had rammed his Toyota Land Cruiser
into a shop in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002, killing one person and
injuring four, who were sleeping on pavement outside.

The trial court had, on May 6, awarded five year jail term to the actor.

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