Salman Khan's appeal to be heard by Sessions Court

Actor Salman Khan's appeal, against a magistrate's order invoking the charge of 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder' in a hit and run case against him, would come for hearing before a sessions court.

The appeal, filed by the actor a month ago, would be heard by Sessions Judge U B Hejib.

The actor has not been summoned to appear before the court yet and the matter would be argued by his lawyers in the sessions court tomorrow, sources told PTI.
The appeal would be decided first and then the main case would be heard, sources said.

The actor has contended that the magistrate had erred in invoking the charge of 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder' (section 304 part II IPC) in the hit-and-run case of 2002. The offence under this section attracts ten years' punishment and is triable by a sessions court.

Earlier, he was tried by a magistrate for lesser charge of causing death by negligence (section 304 A IPC), that provides for a maximum punishment of two years in jail.

After examining 17 witnesses, the magistrate had come to the conclusion that culpable homicide charge was made out against the actor and transferred the case to the sessions court for retrial.

According to Salman's lawyer, the magistrate's order was "erroneous, bad in law and contrary to evidence on record."

He said the magistrate had failed to appreciate that he (Salman) had neither the intention (to kill people) nor the knowledge that his rash and negligent driving would kill a person and cause injury to four others.

One person was killed and four others injured when the Land Cruiser allegedly driven by Salman crushed a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra in the wee hours on September 28, 2002.