Mumbai: In a huge relief to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, the Bombay High Court today suspended his 5-year sentence in the 2002 hit-and-run case and granted him bail pending his appeal against conviction. The term of interim bail was to expire today.
“He has been on bail for a long time and his liberty was not curtailed. Normally, in such cases, the appeal is admitted and an accused is granted bail,” Justice Abhay Thipsay said, while staying his conviction and granting him bail.
The judge directed him to surrender before the trial court and furnish a fresh bail bond of Rs 30,000.
Thipsay had on May 6 granted 48-hour interim bail to the actor, hours after he was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by the trial court on the ground that he had not been supplied with a detailed order explaining the reasons for his conviction.
Here are the latest developments:
- The trial court had on Wednesday found Salman Khan guilty of drunkenly driving over a group of men sleeping on a pavement, killing one. It had sentenced him to five years in prison for culpable homicide.
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The actor had been exempted from appearing in court today. He had broken down in the sessions court on Wednesday when the trial court sentenced him.
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The 49-year-old actor had the same day moved the Bombay High Court, which had granted him interim or temporary bail till today.
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Salman Khan’s appeals are being argued in the High Court by senior lawyers Amit Desai and Shrikant Shivade. Today is the final working day of the High Court before it begins annual summer vacations till June 8.
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People protested outside the court, some in support of the actor, others holding up placards that said, “We are the city, we are not dogs,” a reference to tweets by Bollywood singer Abhijit and other members of the film fraternity that caused outrage.
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On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge DW Deshpande held Salman Khan guilty on all the prosecution’s seven charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash and drunken driving and driving without a valid licence.
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In a 240-page judgment, Judge Deshpande has said, “I find that it is established beyond reasonable doubt by prosecution that accused was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident,” rejecting the actor’s submission that his driver Ashok Singh was driving.
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He has also observed that Salman Khan “did not wait for police on the spot… Instead of visiting police station, the accused went to his house and till 10.30 a.m. he hided himself… If really the accused did not commit any wrong, he could have visited the police station immediately. (sic)”
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The judge has rebuked Salman Khan for not taking “any positive steps by visiting hospital to see the injured and provide medical aid to them” and said that the “well known cine actor” knew he must not drive without a license and after consuming liquor.
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In the early hours of September 28, 2002, Salman’s Toyota Land Cruiser ran over a group of men sleeping on the pavement in front of a bakery not far from the actor’s sea-facing home in Galaxy Apartments in upscale Bandra (West). One man died, four were injured.
(Agencies)
