Court summons Salman

A court here yesterday summoned film star Salman Khan to appear before it in connection with an alleged drunken driving accident that killed a homeless man, to surrender his passport, police said.

The court said Khan should appear tomorrow after it heard a public interest petition against the actor and the police in the state of Maharashtra yesterday.

The public interest litigation brought before the division bench of Justice Ajit Shah and Ranjana Desai yesterday was filed by Nikhil Wagle, editor of Mahanagar, a Marathi tabloid, Niru Damle and Sudha Kulkarni from a women's group.

It raises several issues including a review of the Motor Vehicles Act on the matter of paying compensation to the victims, and suggests that Khan should be given psychological care under the Mental Health Act, a social legislation.

At around 2.45am on September 28, Khan ran over five workers sleeping on the roadside in front of their workplace killing one and injuring four others. Two of the critically injured, Abdullah Sheikh and Muslim Khan, are still recuperating in Bhabha Municipal Hospital, and are said to be in a stable condition.

Like in most hit-and-run cases when the drivers flee the scene for fear of being beaten up by the crowds, Khan and his friend Kamaal Khan also ran away whilst his bodyguard later made a complaint to the police.

The Bandra Police arrested Khan the next day at around 10.30am and he was taken for a medical test to check alcohol consumption. He was later released on a bail of Rs950 by the Bandra Police Station. In the face of rising criticisms, the state government has ordered a police inquiry.

Says Wagle: "The entire episode relating to Salman Khan is an apt example of the highhandedness of the rich and famous and we want to highlight the implications – the violation of human dignity and the abuse of a poor man's right to live."

The incident will indicate whether the law is the same for all citizens, he says.

"Khan as a person is immaterial to me. But look at the cases of other film and VIP personalities ending with barely anything for the victim." That is why the petitioners have challenged the Motor Vehicles Act "which no one has bothered to change since British times".

"We want the victims to be paid according to the financial capacity of the culprit, not based on the victim's earning."

"The court even criticised the public prosecutor as to whether the police were really investigating the matter or giving interviews to the media."

With the court asking the police to clarify what charges were being applied, the petitioners' lawyer, Niteen Pradhan said that Khan should not be charged under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (causing the death of a person by any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) which entails a punishment of two years imprisonment and a fine.

On the contrary, Section 304 should be applied carrying a punishment of 10 years imprisonment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

According to him, Khan has done exactly what this Section states – an act done with the knowledge that is likely to cause death but without any intention to cause death.

"With his history of emotional outbursts of violence due to drunkenness, our PIL suggests he should be taken into protective custody or confinement in a hospital. Since his family is not taking care of him, society will have to. Our sympathy is for the victims, including film star Aishwarya Rai," Pradhan said.

Meanwhile, Salman Khan's father, Salim Khan, told this paper of how the family was going through a difficult time and that his son "was taking it very badly."

"Only prayers can help us," he told Gulf News.

Asked if any member of the family had visited the accident victims at the hospital, he replied, "We cannot do that since we would be accused of tampering with the evidence and that we were insulting the injured by paying them money.

"What is worse is that if we do not go and visit the victims, we'll still be blamed for being callous towards the victims. Any way, our lawyers have asked us not to talk to the media as the case is in the court."