Salman case: Supreme Court rejects early hearing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday while admitting an appeal from Maharashtra government challenging the acquittal of actor Salman Khan in the 2002 hit and run case, rejected the plea for an early hearing of the case.

A bench of Justices J.S. Khehar and Arun Mishra after hearing attorney general Mukul Rohatgi and senior counsel Kapil Sibal for Salman Khan admitted the petition to be heard on merits in due course. When the AG wanted the appeal to be listed for final hearing in six months on the ground that the accident happened in 2002, Justice Khehar observed, “When so many serious cases are pending disposal we don’t see any urgency in this accident case. You may approach the Chief Justice T.S. Thakur if you want any urgent hearing.”

The bench also posted along with this appeal a writ petition filed by advocate Parmanand Katara questioning the filing of the appeal on the ground it was not maintainable as the sentence was only five years and appeals can be filed only if the sentence was more than seven years. Mr Katara had taken a similar plea in the appeal filed by Karnataka against the acquittal of Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case but a bench of Justices Pinaki C. Ghose and Amitav Roy did not entertain the petition.

In its appeal, Maharashtra said Khan’s acquittal in the case is a miscarriage of justice. It said the judgment acquitting the accused was “perverse” and a travesty of justice.

The state said the theory that the car was being driven by Khan’s driver, who surfaced after 13 years, should be discarded. It pointed that for 13 years, his family had maintained that the driver was at home when the incident occurred. The high court’s finding that Khan was not driving the vehicle at the time of the accident is suspicious, the state said. If it was true that his driver alone was behind the wheels it would mean that Khan had been shielding the accused, it argued.

In his reply, Khan maintained that he was falsely implicated and framed by the Maarashtra government in the case. He said he was not driving the car at the time of the accident and that his driver Ashok Singh was driving the car. Seeking dismissal of the appeal, he said Mr Singh had called the police control room after the accident and even went to the police station to record his statement, alleging that the police refused to record it saying they were under pressure to arrest the actor.