Actor Salman Khan is not guilty in the 2002 hit-and-run in which a man was killed, the Bombay High Court ruled today, overturning a trial court order. The 49-year-old superstar broke down after hearing the verdict that cancelled his five-year jail sentence.
"The decision of the trial court is set aside. Salman Khan is acquitted of all charges," the high court said, asking the Mumbai police to return his passport.
"On the basis of evidences produced by the prosecution, (Salman Khan) cannot be convicted, no matter how differently the common man thinks," the judge explained in the order he started reading out three days ago.
He tweeted:
In May, a trial court had held Salman Khan guilty of killing a man with his SUV after a night out drinking on September 28, 2002. The actor's Toyota Land Cruiser had crashed into five men sleeping outside a bakery in Bandra.
The actor has said that his driver Ashok Singh was at the wheel.
"If the witness is partly reliable, then corroboration is required. Ravindra Patil cannot be considered as a wholly reliable witness," the court said, asserting that the sessions court had made a mistake by relying on his statement.
Not questioning singer Kamaal Khan, who was also in Salman Khan's car that night, was also a major error, said the court.
FILE: In May, a trial court had held Salman Khan guilty of killing a man with his Toyota Land Cruiser after a night out drinking (Agence France-Presse photo)
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