[Aditya]

Bollywood actor Salman Khan, has been held guilty in a hit-and-run incident that took place in 2002. A Mumbai Sessions Court has sentenced him to five years in jail.

The court found Salman guilty on the charge of culpable homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place. One person was killed and four others were injured when the Land Cruiser that Salman was driving crashed into the American Express bakery in Bandra, Mumbai. The victims were sleeping on the pavement when the car ran over them.

Salman had told the court that his driver, Ashok Singh was at the wheel when the incident took place. Ashok Singh had also owned responsibility for the accident. The court did not accept this version of the story.

Salman Khan will now be taken to the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Salman Khan will now be taken to the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai.

Even the mighty and influential fall and how.
Top most stars, earning crores of money, billions of fan following and yet two of Bollywood's biggest now behind bars- Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan.

Partners in crime and close buddies.
But I am sure that Salman will appeal to a higher court and request for a re-trial if that is possible.

[msdivy]

The case took 13 years. While it is better late than never, why the delay? This in spite of Mumbai police constable Ravindra Patil, being on-duty and prime eye-witness, never changed his statement and maintained all along that Salman was at the wheels of the car and that he was drunk.

Somebody need to analyze the time-line, identify the cause of delay and suggest steps to speed up DUI cases. Hope this verdict acts as deterrent.

[sgiitk]

Miracle, he gets a bail hearing in the High Court at 4:00pm. What was being speculated is that it will be tough to file for bail even on Friday, when the court adjourns for summer. One can safely assume his legal team were anticipating something like this, and were prepared.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Miracle, he gets a bail hearing in the High Court at 4:00pm.

Wow!

The update on most media websites was that he might not be heard before few weeks simply because the High Court would be closed starting next week.

I'm curious to know the next steps in a little detail though. I mean would the High Court simply sustain the previous verdict, can he get an interim bail?

EDIT: I'm no Salman Khan fan but simply curious.

[mail4ajo]

Pointless discussing this. Took 13 years at a sessions court to give a verdict. Pretty sure another 13 years will go by before we hear more.

Any idea what made the court not believe that Salman's driver was at the wheel? A person like SK "could use" influence and money power to come clean. Known for charity, he "could have" compensated the victim's kins. Why is it not working in this case?

[blue_pulsar]

Isn't 5 years of imprisonment too low for killing one person and injuring (attempting to kill) four more? This is not an accident. He drove his car under the influence of alcohol.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Isn't 5 years of imprisonment too low for killing one person and injuring (attempting to kill) four more? This is not an accident. He drove his car under the influence of alcohol.

Well, life imprisonment isn't enough for killing someone. But then that's not how the judicial system works.

Honestly, I would never want to comment on who was driving or whether there's sufficient evidence because its all hearsay. Unless I don't see something for myself I usually refrain from making a statement.

With this case, as someone else also asked, its hogging all the limelight simply because there's a film actor involved, that too a successful one.

There are also talks that since he knew he wasn't in the good books of the law (this accident plus the black buck case) so he decided to do more and more of charity, started being human brand etc. I mean who really knows the truth, probably Salman Khan himself.

My opinion, if he indeed was driving and was under the influence then he deserves harsher justice than what he got. However, if he wasn't, sad story then.

But what really grinds my gears is the time it takes our judicial system to arrive at a verdict. 13 years, really??!! Not to mention now this will get challenged and maybe the FINAL verdict would be out by the time he turns 80.

[rajeev k]

Salman's bail petition is scheduled for hearing at 1600 hrs this evening in Mumbai High Court.

[sdp1975]

If his bail is denied by the HC, his lawyers will approach the SC for bail , pending appeal.

In the worst case, he will spend a maximum of a few weeks in jail , get bail , while his appeal in the higher courts will go on for another decade.

[Chetan_Rao]

I don't care for the verdict itself either way, but I do care that it took our judicial system THIRTEEN years to reach one, that too subject to further appeals.

Instead, the court should've paid 13 years worth of court costs/expenses as compensation to the victims, that would probably be fairer than the farce we're witnessing now in the name of justice. Not to mention all this nonsense being paid for by the taxpayer.

[sourabhzen]

And now he got two days interim bail. So much for justice!

[StarrySky]

I find it amusing that the High Court which has a huge backlog of pending cases has the time to hear a bail petition on such short notice. I wonder what makes this petition a high priority/emergency case in the eyes of the court.

[blacksport]

The rule of law is paramount, and if the judge found that he should be jailed for 5 years it is just.

But can't ignore that people are extracting pleasure from the sight of a rich and powerful man going to jail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

Here is a study:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...envy-them.html

The study found that people took pleasure when they were shown pictures of a rich business enduring difficult times

It is an act of negligence and there was no intent to kill. Culpable, yes. Punishable, yes. Yet I feel sorry for him.

[wheeledsoul]

A bit harsh I would say considering that he is already into charity and social work. Agreed he was driving under influence (if indeed he was driving), and had no license but is his offense more serious than that star's who was fully aware of the plot and lent logistical support to anti national elements who were plotting against the nation which resulted in a significant loss of life, property and not to forget the scar it left on the nation.

This star helping anti nationals gets a meagre 42 months jail term with repeated furloughs while Salman gets 60?

Kudos to the judge and our judicial system.