2002 hit-and-run case has seen many twists and turns

On Wednesday, more than 12 long years after it happened, a verdict -- some might even call it 'justice' - was finally delivered in the 2002 hit-and-run case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan when Judge D W Deshpande of a Mumbai sessions court upheld all charges against the Bollywood actor, including one of culpable homicide.  

Khan had been accused of ramming his car, in a state of inebriation, into a roadside bakery in suburban Bandra, in the wee hours of September 28, 2002, and in the process driving over people sleeping outside. The crash killed one of those, and injured four others.

The actor had challenged the application of Section 304 (II) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2003. This marked the start of a series of twists and turns the case was to see — in the latest, Ashok Singh, Khan’s family driver since 1990, told the court it was he, and not Khan, who had been driving the car that night.

The quantum of punishment for Khan, estimated to be up to 10 years, will be announced later today. Irrespective, the decision will affect the film industry, given that Khan has some Rs 150 crore riding on him at present, with films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in the final stages of production. Salman Khan’s brand endoresements alone are currently valued at about Rs 200 crore. Separately, the superstar is also facing trial in a Rajasthan court for hunting and killing a black buck - a protected species - during shooting of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Business Standard chronicles the story so far in the 12-year-old hit-and-run case:

Sep 28, 2002

• Salman Khan’s Toyota Land Cruiser crashes into American Express Bakery at Hill Road in Mumbai’s Bandra area, killing one person and injuring four others.
• Khan’s blood samples are taken
• Khan is arrested by the Bandra police, granted bail

Oct, 2002

• Khan is booked under provisions of IPC, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949
• Mumbai Police invoke Section 304 (II) of IPC; that is, culpable homicide not amounting to murder — this attracts a jail term of up to 10 years
• Khan surrenders again before Bandra police
• Mumbai Police file chargesheet in the Bandra magistrate court
• Khan is granted bail

March, 2003

• Khan challenges application of section 304 (II) of IPC in a Mumbai sessions court

May, 2003

• Sessions court rejects Khan’s plea, asks magistrate court to frame charges

June, 2003

• Khan moves the Bombay High Court, which says Section 304 (II) of IPC does not apply in this case

Oct, 2003

• Maharashtra government challenges Bombay HC order in the Supreme Court

December, 2003

• SC rules that the magistrate court could decide whether Section 304 (II) of IPC could be applied

December, 2012

• The magistrate court rules that a case is indeed made out under Section 304 (II); commits trial to a Mumbai sessions court

April 20, 2015

• Khan’s family driver, Ashok Singh, tells the court that it was he who was driving that night

May 6, 2015

• Court convicts Khan, charges him with culpable homicide