JOIN USA Mumbai sessions court on Tuesday took on record information from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the Maharashtra Excise Department that say actor Salman Khan did not have a driving licence (DL) and a liquor permit, respectively, at the time of the accident 13 years ago.
The trial court, presided over by additional sessions judge D W Deshpande, also took on record letters written by the Bandra police station to the RTO and the Excise Department seeking the information.
The letters and documents were submitted to the court by special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat. Khan’s lawyer Srikant Shivade objected to it, saying such documents should have been submitted by the prosecuting agency at the time of filing of charge sheet.
However, the judge accepted the documents and said the documents' evidential value would be decided before the final agreements. These documents are considered significant by the prosecution as they indicate the accused was driving the car without a licence, and also that he had consumed alcohol without having a liquor permit.
It may be recalled Khan's police bodyguard Ravindra Patil had claimed that the actor was under the influence of alcohol and driving rashly.
In another development, Shivade filed an application seeking to recall investigating officer (IO) Ravindra Kadam so questions could be put to him regarding the charge of culpable homicide, added in this case in 2013. The defence lawyer further argued that he would like to cross-examine the IO as Salman Khan's police bodyguard Ravindra Patil had died during trial.
The prosecution objected to this application, saying enough opportunity had been given to the accused to cross-examine the IO, and hence it would not be reasonable to allow the plea at this stage. However, the judge asked the prosecutor to file a reply to the application on March 24, when the case would come up for hearing next.