A Sessions Court on Thursday ordered a fresh trial in the much-discussed 2002 hit-and-run case involving Salman Khan, giving an opportunity to the actor to re-examine the witnesses in the context of an aggravated charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder invoked against him midway through the earlier trial.
Accepting the actor’s plea that the evidence adduced earlier before a magistrate be discarded as he was now facing a more serious charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Judge DW Deshpande ruled that the trial would be held de novo (fresh) and directed the prosecution to produce a list of witnesses and documents to be adduced by it as evidence.
Holding that the evidence adduced before the Magistrate would not be considered and that all witnesses who had appeared earlier would both be examined and cross-examined afresh in the de-novo trial, the judge adjourned the matter for December 23 to enable the prosecution to produce a list of witnesses and documents.
Observing that considerable time had already been spent on the conduct of trial earlier, the judge said that the fresh trial against the actor would be fast-tracked. On December 23 the Sessions Court Judge will fix the date for the trial to begin. This would provide an opportunity to the defence lawyer to re-examine witnesses in the context of the enhanced charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder which attracts a ten-year sentence.
Salman’s lawyers had argued in the earlier proceedings that Magistrate Vasant Patil had “failed to appreciate” that he (Salman) neither had the intention (to kill anyone) nor had the knowledge of the fact that the alleged act of driving rashly and negligently would lead to the death of a person.
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.
Forty-eight-year-old Salman, against whom fresh charges were framed in the court of Judge UB Hejib on July 24 this year, will now stand a fresh trial under Section 304 (II) of Indian Penal code - a more severe charge than the one of causing death by negligence (Section 304-A of IPC) that he was tried for earlier -and other charges, including the ones framed against him under Section 279 of IPC (rash driving) and the relevant provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and Bombay Prohibition Act.