Bollywood’s Salman Khan cleared over hit-and-run crash

The Bombay High Court has acquitted Bollywood actor Salman Khan of all criminal charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case, overturning an earlier decision by a lower court that had sentenced him to five years in jail. The actor who was convicted by the sessions court in the 2002 Hit and Run case, High Court declared that since there is not reliable evidence against Salman, he is freed from the case.

On the basis of the evidence submitted by the prosecution, Salman Khan can not be convicted, said judge while dictating final verdict today.

The chief public prosecutor in the high court, Sandeep Shinde, said the judge has raised three issues to be looked at: “Whether Salman Khan was driving, and whether he was drunk or whether it was a “pure and simple” accident”.

A chemical analyst who had tested his blood had told a court in May 2010 that Khan was under the influence of alcohol when he had the accident. But on Thursday, a high court in Mumbai reversed the guilty conviction.

September 22: Salman Khan’s Toyata Land Cruiser rammed into the American Express Bakery at Hill Road at Bandra, killing one person and injuring four others. Patil was also suspended from the police force.

The Judge said that he (Patil) was a wholly unreliable witness because he had made improvements subsequently in his statement given to a Magistrate.

In March, Khan’s family driver, Ashok Singh, came forward for the first time to say he was driving the vehicle and that a burst tyre caused the accident.

The court also observed that appreciation of evidence by trial court is not proper according to principles of jurisprudence. Even his long-time bodyguard Shera could be seen shielding the actor from the media around the court premises.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan sits in a auto as he leaves a court in Mumbai, India, May 6, 2015. Another star witness – a singer friend of Khan’s who reportedly corroborated that the actor was driving the auto – turned hostile, moved to Europe and was not called to testify.

The court has also ordered the police to handover the passport to Salman following the verdict. The Maharashtra government should file an appeal in the apex court as it is a fit case to be challenged, she said.