(Image source from: Salman Khan acquitted of all charges by High court in 2002 hit-and-run case})

The Bombay high court has on Thursday acquitted the Bollywood actor, Salman Khan of all criminal charges that he had been held guilty by a trial court. The court had observed that the prosecution failed to establish the case against Salman. The court observed that appreciation of evidence by the trial court is not proper according to the principles of jurisprudence. There has been a faulty manner to establish the procedure for connecting  the chain of evidence with regard to biological evidence.

The High Court said that the prosecution had failed to bring material evidence on record to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Salman was driving the car during the incident. The court said that the prosecution failed to convince the court that he was under the influence of alcohol.

Justice Joshi said that "this court has come to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed to bring material on record to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant (Salman Khan) was driving and was under the influence of alcohol, also, whether the accident occurred due to bursting (of tyre) prior to the incident or tyre burst after the incident."

The judge said the testimony of the injured, who had, "after 12 years" said that he had seen the actor fall down twice before running away, to suggest drunkenness, has several "omissions" and examined and analysed them "in juxtaposition with other evidence such as the FIR and his police body guard Patil's statement which did not mention alcohol."

Justice Joshi said, that "evidence will be analysed in detail to ascertain whether prosecution has attained that standard of proof which is required to be established especially to prove the charge of s 304-II of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder)."

The actor was convicted of all charges by a sessions court earlier this year in the case relating to 2002 in which, Salman’s Toyota Land Cruiser had crashed into five men sleeping outside a bakery on Hill Road in Bandra in the early hours of September 28. One person was killed and four others were injured. But later, the Bombay HC suspended the sentence after the actor appealed against his conviction.

By Premji