Mumbai court refers Saif Ali Khan 2012 hotel assault case for mediation

In relation to the 2012 brawl case, where an NRI businessman alleged that actor Saif Ali Khan assaulted him outside Taj Hotel in Colaba, a Mumbai court has referred the matter for mediation after consent from both the parties, PTI reported on Thursday. Saif appeared before a Mumbai court on Thursday to depose in relation to the infamous case. A local metropolitan magistrate court in the first week of April this year had given “a last chance” to Saif to appear before the court on the next date of hearing. However, Saif’s lawyer had filed exemption application, saying the actor could not make it as he was shooting abroad for an ad film. [caption id=“attachment_2301302” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Actor Saif Ali Khan and South African businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma.[/caption] Prosecutor Wajid Sheikh had objected to the application and had sought issuance of warrant against Saif. Magistrate Shankar Dabhade had given him a last chance to appear after Saif’s lawyer had said he will make sure the actor remained present on the next date. The court had said if the actor did not appear on 18 June (today), a warrant may be issued against him. Saif and his two friends – Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak – had been arrested following a complaint filed by Iqbal Mir Sharma, an NRI businessman, after an alleged fight at a restaurant inside Taj Hotel in Mumbai’s Colaba on 22 February, 2012. The three were later released on bail. The court had framed charges against them under Sections 325 (assault) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code. They have pleaded innocence. According to the police, when Sharma protested the raucous chatter of the actor and his friends, Saif allegedly threatened him and subsequently punched Sharma in the nose, fracturing it. The NRI businessman also accused Saif and his friends of hitting his father-in-law Raman Patel. Saif, on the other hand, said that Sharma made provocative statements and used abusive language against the women accompanying him (including his wife, actor Kareena Kapoor and her sister Karisma) which led to a spat. With PTI inputs