Mumbai : Destiny and law both seemed to be catching up with actor Salman Khan on Wednesday as he was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years imprisonment in the 2002 hit-and-run case. But, as if to debunk those who would have thought his streak of luck has ended, the Bombay High Court granted him interim bail till May 8.
The 48-hour breather was granted on the plea that Khan had been handed over only a 2-page operative part of the Sessions Court verdict and not a detailed order explaining the reasons for his conviction.”In all fairness and in the interest of justice” the actor should be protected till the time a copy of the reasoned order regarding his conviction is furnished to him, ruled Justice Thipsay.
Khan had roped in top lawyer Harish Salve to plead his case in the high court. The hearing on the bail application will be taken up on Friday, which is the final working day of the Bombay High Court before it goes into annual summer vacation. It will reopen on June 7.
Like the twists and turns that characterised the prolonged trial in the over 12-year-old case, the actor was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by sessions court judge D W Deshpande and placed under arrest immediately thereafter. Minutes after the judgement was pronounced in a packed courtroom, Salman’s lawyers moved the high court to prevent him from going to jail.
Salman’s bothers Arbaaz and Sohail, sisters Alvira and Arpita, besides long-time bodyguard Shera stood beside him in the courtroom which, barring the media, court staff and the lawyers, was declared out of bounds for others.
“All the charges have been proved against you… What do you have to say?” Judge Deshpande asked Salman who was in the witness box.
“I hold that you were driving the vehicle. You were intoxicated. I also do not agree with your plea that the person who had died had received fatal injuries after a crane dropped the car on the persons underneath while removing it,” the judge added.
He rejected defence lawyer Shrikant Shivade’s contentions that the actor’s driver Ashok Singh was at the wheel when the accident took place, and owned up responsibility belatedly.
Salman, attired in a white shirt and light blue denim jeans, however, insisted that he was not driving the car. “But I respect your decision and accept it. My lawyer will speak on my behalf,” the actor mumbled.
Arguing for a lenient sentence, the superstar’s lawyers urged the judge. “You can’t punish him more because he is an actor. If he is to suffer, he should suffer as an ordinary person.”
The lawyers also reasoned that if the actor is jailed for a lengthy period, he will not be able to donate to “Being Human”, the trust that he runs. They said “majority of the actor’s income” is given to the organization that does “a lot of good work.”
In the high court, senior Supreme Court counsel Harish Salve cited medical reasons for seeking bail and also argued that no one can be arrested on the basis of a summarised court order.
But though his lawyers spoke about his poor health, it was pointed out that Salman was shooting in Kashmir for “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, one of the much-anticipated films this year. The other is “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo”.
In no time after Salman was sentenced, Bollywood plunged into gloom. “We all know that Salman is an excellent human being who can’t fight with destiny,” said producer and director Subhash Ghai.
Actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh called Salman one of the “finest people I have met in this industry”. Actress Bipasha Basu added: “Salman is the nicest human being in this business…Deeply saddened.”
Actress Sonakshi Sinha, Salman’s co-star in “Dabangg”, called the verdict “terrible news”. Director Kunal Kohli said he was “heartbroken”.
But 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 in the case had given the impression that the rich could get away with murder in India, and that the moneyed were above the law.
This is the third case of a high-profile Bollywood actor going to jail in Mumbai.
In May 2013, actor Sanjay Dutt was convicted for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings and sentenced to five years in jail. He is lodged in Pune’s Yerwada Central Jail.
