Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court has started dictating its order in the 2002 hit-and-run case against actor Salman Khan in which he has been convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder for killing one person while driving drunk.
In May this year, the actor was convicted for all charges against him by a sessions' court in Mumbai. He then appealed against the conviction in the Bombay High Court which suspended his sentence.
One person had died and four were injured when the actor's Toyota Land Cruiser crashed into five men sleeping outside a bakery on Hill Road in Bandra early in the morning on September 28, 2002.
Eye-witnesses had told the trial court that the actor was seen getting out of the driver's side of the car. However, Salman's lawyers had argued that it was driver Ashok Singh, and not the actor who was driving that night. The driver had also testified in court and Salman Khan had pleaded innocence.
Last month, Salman Khan's plea to make singer Kamaal Khan a witness in the case was dismissed by the Bombay High Court. Kamaal Khan was in the car with Salman Khan in 2002 on the night of the accident.
Salman Khan has starred in more than 100 films and television shows and is one of Bollywood's busiest actors. He is said to have Rs 200 crore riding on him with many films in the pipeline. He also endorses 10 brands.