Bollywood actor Salman Khan found himself in a spot of bother on Wednesday, as the Maharashtra Government informed the Bombay High Court that it would challenge the verdict acquitting him of all the charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case.
In an oral submission made before a HC bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Gautam Patel, Government Pleader Abhinandan Vagyani said that the State Government would file a Special leave Petition (SlP) in the apex court against the verdict delivered by the High Court on December 10, 2015.
During the course of a hearing of a public interest litigation (PIl) filed by senior journalist Nikhil Wagle seeking compensation for victims from the actor in the hit-and-run case, Vagyani told the HC bench that the State law and Judiciary department had accorded a sanction to the Prosecution to file an SlP in the apex court.
In an apparent communication gap between him and the State law and Judiciary department, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said couple of hours after Vagyani made his submission before the High Court that he had so far not received any legal opinion so far from the department concerned.
Talking to media persons at the end of the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis said at Nagpur: “Our stand on the Salman Khan issue is very clear. This matter has gone to our law and judiciary department. If the department tells us that there is a merit to challenge Salman’s acquittal in the Supreme Court, we will do so. If the department advises against moving the apex court, we will not do so. The department is still examining the verdict. We have not heard anything from them”.
On December 10, Justice A R Joshi of the High Court had overturned the trial court’s verdict of May 6, 2015 and acquitted the actor of all charges in the much-discussed 2002 hit-and-run case.