Salman Khan will not spend Wednesday night in prison, despite being given a five-year sentence in the 2002 hit-and-run case that killed one man and injured four after a long-drawn-out legal process. The actor has give a two-day interim bail after his lawyer approached the Bombay High Court at 4.30pm. Justice AM Thipsay said he was on bail throughout his trial and It will be proper to protect him, reported media at the court, while NDTV said it was because no court order had yet been received.
Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande announced the verdict in the case at a packed court in Mumbai on Wednesday morning. He told 49-year-old Khan: “You were driving the vehicle and you were under the influence of alcohol.”
All charges are proved, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, driving under influence of liquor and not possessing a driving licence. The court said it was “not probable that [Khan’s] driver was behind the wheel” and pronounced the sentence after a 45-minute adjournment of the proceedings that also saw a power cut in the courtroom.
The 49-year-old actor was also given separate terms for negligent driving and causing grievous harm to the victims, but all the sentences will run concurrently, defence lawyers said. His lawyers argued for a more lenient sentence, submitting medical documents to the court, saying the actor had heart and other ailments. Most Indian prisons are overcrowded and have poor sanitation and health care. However, a high-profile prisoner such as Khan was unlikely to be kept with hardened criminals and would probably be accommodated with white-collar offenders.
Indian media reports Khan “had tears in his eyes” upon hearing the verdict. Khan’s family — father Salim Khan, mother Salma Khan, brothers Arbaaz and Sohail Khan, and sisters Arpita and Alvira — were by his side. His sisters “broke down”.
Later, the actor looked calm and composed as the judgement was read out. When asked by the judge if he had anything to say, Khan said “you are the judge. Whatever you say is correct”.
He was taken into custody and his lawyers were due to approach the high court for bail at 4.30pm on Wednesday.
Khan would undergo some health check-ups before being taken to jail, NDTV reported, citing police.
He will be taken to Arthur Road Jail, where he will be held in transit, until police and jail authorities decide which jail to lodge him in.
The actor has several films lined up, as well as multiple endorsement deals, with industry experts estimating Rs2 billion worth of projects rest on him.
Shares of Eros International Media Ltd., which is distributing Khan’s film Bajrangi Bhaijan, plunged as much as 7.3 per cent after the verdict and were set for their lowest close since February 26.
Mandhana Industries Ltd., which has a license to sell the Being Human clothing label run by Khan’s charity trust, slumped as much as 5.2 per cent and traded at 264.20 rupees as of 2.48 pm in Mumbai, reported Bloomberg.
Khan’s lawyer had plead for maximum sentence of 2 years and a fine, “keeping in mind Salman Khan’s humanitarian work”, reported Times of India from the court.
Activist lawyer Abha Singh said justice has finally been done. “I am very happy,” she told the media. “Justice has been done. The law has been upheld.”
She said the long delay had given the impression that the rich could get away with murder in India, and that the moneyed were above the law.
Singh had sought to intervene in the Sessions Court on Wednesday with an application seeking to record the witness statement of one of Salman’s friends, singer Kamaal Khan, who was in the killer vehicle.
Judge Deshpande declined to accept the application.
The court also rejected the belated statement by Khan’s driver Ashok Singh owning up responsibility for the accident. The prosecution is contemplating charging him with perjury.
Earlier Wednesday, a scuffle erupted between Mumbai police personnel and some members of the large media contingent outside the court complex, as the latter were prevented from entering the premises.
Heated arguments between the agitated media personnel and police finally saw the security shutting the doors of the sessions court No.52.
Dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans, the actor arrived in the jam-packed courtroom minutes before the proceedings began in the morning.
“Producers will be extremely careful in signing him for films until there’s clarity on the judgment and what legal recourse is available to him,” said Amod Mehra, an independent film trade analyst.
The prosecution had alleged that Khan was driving without holding a licence and, to buttress its charge, produced RTO records to show that the actor had procured a licence only in 2004, two years after the tragedy.
The court, while pronouncing the judgement, drew parallels with the Alistair Pereira and Sanjeev Nanda BMW cases.
Khan had earlier been tried for the lesser offence of causing death by rash and negligent driving which attracts a lighter punishment of imprisonment up to two years. After examining several witnesses, a Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate had called off the trial midway in 2012 and slapped the serious charge of culpable homicide against the actor before committing the matter to the sessions court.
The court, while convicting the hugely popular actor, upheld the prosecution’s contention that he was at the wheel when his Toyota Land Cruiser ran over five people sleeping on the pavement outside American Express bakery in suburban Bandra, killing one person and wounding four.
In April, his driver Ashok Singh told the court that he was driving and lost control of the SUV when one its tires burst.
Khan is also awaiting an outcome of a case involving the hunting of endangered blackbucks in 1998. In that case, the Supreme Court has reserved its verdict.
He is one of Bollywood’s most popular stars, appearing in more than 90 Hindi-language films in his 27-year career.
Huge crowds had gathered outside Khan’s house in south Mumbai for a glimpse of the star as he emerged from his apartment block surrounded by security guards.
Scores of television crews and reporters followed the actor’s car and thronged the building as the court gave its verdict in a case that has been closely watched by millions of Khan’s fans in India and abroad.
Khan began his career in 1988, playing the romantic action hero with many of his movies becoming box office hits. He is well-known as a generous star who in recent years has turned to philanthropy. His charitable trust, “Being Human,” works in education and healthcare for the poor.
Khan has been found guilty of the following charges in a car crash that took place in 2002 in Mumbai, killing one and injuring four:
Section 304 II of Indian Penal Code: Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder
Section 337 of Indian Penal Code: Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others
Section 338 of Indian Penal Code: Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others
Section 3(1) of Motor Vehicles Act: No person shall drive a motor vehicle in any public place unless he holds an effective driving licence issued to him authorising him to drive the vehicle.
Section 134 of Motor Vehicles Act: Duty of driver in case of accident and injury to a person
Section 187 of Motor Vehicles Act: Punishment for drunken driving
Section 185 of Motor Vehicles Act: If a driver or an owner fails to report involvement of his/her vehicle in an accident and give the required information to the Police Officer concerned, he/she shall be punishable with imprisonment up to 3 months or fine up to 500/- or both in addition to the punishment for the accident, in case convicted
Section 279: Rash driving or riding on a public way
