Bollywood actor Salman Khan suffered a major setback on Monday, as a city court rejected his plea challenging the lower court’s order and ruled that he would now have to stand a fresh trial for a more severe charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the 2002 hit-and-run case.
Holding that offence of “culpable homicide not amount to murder” had been made out against Salman in the hit-and-run case, Sessions Judge UB Hejib ordered that the actor be tried under Section 304 (II) of IPC which, if established, would attract a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment.
In effect, the Sessions Judge upheld a ruling given by the Bandra Magistrate’s court given on January 31, 2013 that allowed the Prosecution to revive the charge of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” for allegedly killing a pavement dweller and injuring four others in the hit-and-run case. Through his January 31 order, the Bandra Magistrate committed the case to the city Sessions Court for a fresh trial.
Salman, who was being earlier tried in a Magistrate’s court for a less serious offence of causing death due to negligence (a charge that prescribes a maximum sentence of two years’ jail term), will now stand a fresh trial for a graver offence under Section 304 (II) of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
A city Sessions Court will hold the fresh trial against the actor from July 19.
In the September 28, 2002 hit-and-run incident, Salman – allegedly in a drunken state — drove his land Cruiser recklessly near his Bandra residence, killing a pavement dweller and injuring four others, who were asleep on the same pavement.
Rejecting the argument made by Salman’s lawyer that Ashok Mundargi that Magistrate Vasant Patil’s order was “erroneous, bad in law and contrary to evidence on record”, Judge Hejib held that there was merit in Public Prosecutor Shankar Erande’s contention that Magistrate
had rightly invoked the charge of culpable homicide as he had committed a serious offence.
Pressing for invocation of the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Salman, Prosecutor Erande told the sessions court that the actor was under the influence of more than the permissible limit of alcohol (60 mg as revealed in his blood test) at the time of mishap and that he had the knowledge that his act of rash driving in a drunken state might result in death of people.