Salman to face retrial in hit-and-run case

A sessions court here on Monday ruled that actor Salman Khan will have to face trial in the 2002 hit-and-run incident, on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Salman had appealed against the decision of the Magistrate court which in January 2013 had invoked Section 304 of the IPC for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The actor had earlier been charged for causing death by negligence under section 304 A of the IPC.

Under this, the maximum sentence is of two years, while for culpable homicide, the actor, if convicted, may face upto 10 years in jail.

Sessions Court Judge U B Hejib concurred with the Bandra Magistrate’s order, which was based on the statement of his now-deceased police bodyguard Ravindra Patil.

Salman, who was allegedly driving the vehicle in an inebriated state, had been asked by Patil not to drive rashly.The court also relied on the chemical analysis report, which showed his blood alcohol level to be much higher than the permissible limit.

One person was killed and four others were injured when the SUV rammed into a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra in the early hours of September 28, 2002.

The actor was arrested a few hours after the incident. His bodyguard, whose first statement did not mention about his warning to Salman asking him not to drive, subsequently made a second statement that the actor had repeatedly ignored the plea to not drive rashly. The trial would start on July 19.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com