Salman Khan case adjourned till July 24

A sessions court here Friday adjourned till July 24 further hearing in the 2002 hit-and-run case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

The actor along with some of his family members attended the hearing in person as per the court’s earlier directives.

The court, which last month held that a case was made out to invoke the stringent Indian Penal Code Section 304 (III) against the actor, is expected to deliver its ruling in conducting a retrial.

The fresh charge under IPC Section 304 (III), which pertains to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, could attract a 10-year jail term.

Earlier, Salman Khan had been tried by a metropolitan magistrate under the less severe charges of IPC 304A, relating to rash and negligent driving which stipulated a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

However, the metropolitan magistrate, after examining 17 witnesses in the case, had invoked the more serious charge under Section 304 (III) of the IPC against the actor.

The court has two options before it: either to conduct a fresh trial or continue the existing case with the additional stringent charges. The court is expected to give its ruling on this at the next hearing.

During Friday’s hearing, Salman Khan was sitting in the visitors’ area, but was later summoned to stand in the box meant for accused.

One person was killed and four others were injured when a Land Cruiser allegedly driven by Salman Khan in an inebriated state ran over a group of footpath dwellers in Mumbai’s Bandra suburb in the early hours of Sep 28, 2002.