Maharashtra To Challenge Salman Khan’s Acquittal In Supreme Court

Several legal experts have said that the case could have been sent back to the sessions court to sort out any procedural irregularities, rather than giving the benefit to Salman Khan. The Bombay HC had termed lower court’s verdict as erred thereby acquitting the actor of all charges.

It may be noted that the HC rapped the prosecution for failing to provide any proof of Salman’s culpability in the case. Reportedly, the government will move a Special Leave Petition to file the appeal against the actor’s acquittal for the five-year sentence.

The Law and Judiciary department had accorded sanction to the prosecution to file SLP in the Supreme Court, Government Pleader Abhinandan Vagyani told a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Gautam Patel.

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by journalist Nikhil Wagle in the wake of the hit-and-run incident involving Salman Khan and raising concern about increasing incidents of drunken driving and lack of stringent penal provisions to tackle the spate of accidents caused by persons while driving under influence of alcohol.

Last week prosecution recommended appeal against the Bombay High Court verdict that acquitted the actor of all the 8 charges in the case.

The accident that took place on September 28, 2002 allegedly left one pavement dweller dead and four others injured.

During the hearing of Wagle’s PIL, the HC sought some answers from the government.

However, there are no rules that provide for a time frame within which the blood samples are to be tested.

To this, Vagyani replied that the first 5-7 hours after the accident are crucial when ideally such examination is done. Firstly, they wanted to know if there were specific guidelines followed by the investigating agencies while collecting blood samples and other evidence from crime scene.