Nothing wrong in bail to Salman on conviction day: SC

Apex court says nobody can be sent to jail sans conviction order

The Supreme Court on Monday said there was nothing wrong in granting bail to actor Salman Khan on the day he was convicted and sentenced to five-year imprisonment in the 2002 hit-and-run case.

A bench of Justices J S Khehar and R Banumathi explained that nobody can be sent to jail without being provided a copy of the conviction order and that is why Salman was let out.

The court rejected a plea by advocate M L Sharma that the Bombay High Court committed procedural irregularity on May 6, 2015, in allowing Salman to walk free even after his conviction and sentence.

“Nobody can be sent to jail without a conviction order, that is the law and that is how he (Salman) got the bail,” the bench said.

Sharma sought a probe into the circumstances leading to Salman’s acquittal in the case in which a Toyota Land Cruiser, allegedly driven by the actor, ran over five men sleeping on the pavement in Bandra, leaving one person dead and several others injured.

He also cited Salman’s father Salim Khan’s “extra-judicial confession” to the media that the family spent Rs 25 crore in the case.

The court dismissed his petition saying these were “wild allegations” levelled without any basis. 

“Where is the material to substantiate it? They must have spent on lawyers.”The court is already hearing the appeal by the Maharashtra government against Salman’s acquittal by the high court in December, last. Victim’s family members have also approached the court challenging the actor’s acquittal and seeking compensation.