Salman Khan hit-and-run case: Court to announce verdict on 6 May

Mumbai: In the 2002 hit-and-run case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan, a Mumbai sessions court on Tuesday said that it will deliver the verdict on 6 May.

Judge D W Deshpande said the court will require 15 days to study the case. The judge also asked Salman Khan to be present in the court on the day the judgment is announced. The defence and prosecution concluded their arguments on Monday.

The court heard the case in which it had issued notices to police inspector Rajendra Kane and two print media organizations for publishing reports reconstructing the incident. It restrained the media from publishing any comment and opinion on the case till May 6.

On Monday, the sessions court issued notices to Kane and two print media organizations after the defence and prosecution moved a contempt petition. The court had asked Kane and the media organizations to appear before it on Tuesday and give an explanation.

Khan, accused of ramming his SUV into a pavement in front of a bakery in suburban Bandra on 28 September, 2002, killing one person and injuring four others, is facing the charge of ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’. The actor had earlier faced the charge of causing death by negligence under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code. The charge of 304 II of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was enhanced in 2013 that led to a retrial of the case.

While the prosecution had claimed that Khan was behind the wheel of the SUV at the time of the accident, the actor refuted the claim saying it was his driver Ashok Singh who was in the driver’s seat.

The prosecution said Khan was drunk and there were only three persons in the car – Khan, singer Kamaal Khan and Patil. However, Khan’s lawyer refuted it saying that he was drinking colourless water and fourth person, Ashok Singh, was there in the car.

Prosecution said Khan’s rash driving claimed the life of Nurullah Mehboob Sharif and injured Kalim Mohammed Pathan, Munna Malai Khan, Abdullah Rauf Shaikh and Muslim Shaikh.

The defence argued that the post-mortem report of Nurullah suggested the Nurullah and the rest were crushed when a crane, which attempted to lift the SUV, ended up dropping it back on the victims. He said that the incident was a ‘pure accident’, caused by a tyre burst.