Bollywood actor Salman Khan was drunk when he drove his SUV over homeless people sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai in 2002, the Maharashtra government told the Indian Supreme Court on Friday.
The government is seeking to reverse the Bombay High Court verdict acquitting him in case.
Terming the High Court verdict as “perverse”, “improper” and a “complete travesty of justice”, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state, insisted that Khan was driving the vehicle.
Rohatgi also debunked the theory that it was Khan’s driver Ashok Brahmadev Singh who was driving the Toyota Land Cruiser on the night of September 28, 2002, when it crashed into a Bandra pavement, killing one and injuring four others.
“From 2002 to 2015, this Singh did not surface. He suddenly appears after 13 years and says that he was driving,” he said, asking “how can the cine star keep quiet for such a long period just to save his driver?”
Rohatgi said that the suggestion that it was Khan’s driver who was behind the wheel was an “afterthought”.
The benchm comprising Justices J S Khehar and C Nagappanm did not issue a notice to Khan and set another hearing for February 12.
Referring to the sequence of events and testimonies from witnesses, Rohatgi said that Khan’s singer friend Kamaal Khan and a constable were inside the vehicle and there were statements that prove the actor was driving the vehicle.
The actor’s blood alcohol level was beyond the permissible limit even 12 hours after it was collected for testing, Rohatgi said, adding that it was an admitted fact that Khan did not have a driving licence in 2002.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khan, said the Attorney General told “a very good story on the accident” and he has a lot to say to counter his points.