The Bombay High Court said on Tuesday that the discrepancies in the examination of blood samples in the 2002 hit-and-run case — right from extraction of blood samples from the accused to its preservation and testing to check the presence of alcohol in its — had cast doubts over biological evidence adduced by the prosecution in the case.
As he dictated the judgement on Salman’s appeal against his conviction and a five-year jail term handed to him by the trial court in May this year, Justice A R Joshi of the high court said that there were “anomalies” and “missing links” in matters relating to the examination of the actor’s blood samples of the actor.
Soon after his arrest by the police on the afternoon of September28,2002 in connection with Salman was first taken to the BMC-run Bhabha Hospital at Bandra in north-west Mumbai for medical examination. However, since there was no facility for blood extraction at the Bhabha Hospital, senior inspector Kishan Shengal (PW-27) sent the actor to the State-run Sir JJ Hospital, where the blood was extracted by Dr Shashikant Janardan Pawar (PW-20). The blood extracted was subsequently analysed by Dattatraya Khobrajirao Bhalshankar (PW-18).
When the actor was taken to the hospital, he was accompanied by Assistant Sub Inspector Vijay Manikrao Salunkhe (PW-22) and a police naik Sharad Bapu Borade (PW-21) handed it over to the chemical analyser.
The blood was extracted from the actor on September 28, 2002 around 2.30 pm and the samples reached the Bandra police station that evening. However, since it was a Saturday, the samples were sent to the FSl at Kalina in north-east Mumbai on September 30, and the same day the examination was done and the report was given on October 1.
“PW-20 (Dr Pawar) carried out the clinical examination of the appellant-accused. He found smell of alcohol in his breath. Subsequently, he drew his blood sample and he put in in two vials, which was sealed by the ward boy. He had drawn 6 ml of blood and has put it in two vials, 3 ml in each of them, ultimately, what reached the CA was 4 ml of blood in one vial,” he noted.
“PW-20 gave one sealed envelope containing two forms - form A and form B and two vials....at police station, PW-21 was given two sealed envelopes to be given to CA...he gives two envelopes to the receiving clerk of the FSl, who has not been examined by the court. PW-18 says that one police constable gave him the blood samples...this is a missing link in the biological evidence,” he said.
Justice Joshi further noted: “ In fact, greater care must have been taken, could have been taken by the Chemical Analyser, if his evidence has to be accepted as expert evidence and in order to place reliance, then in fact handling of samples at various stages from blood extraction to blood examination, should have been proper.” He also said that samples must have been placed under “proper custody” to prevent “internal fermentation”, to render the final results as not being “useless”.