Court spares Aditya Pancholi of jail term in assault case, asks him to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to victim

Mumbai: A sessions court in Mumbai has upheld the conviction of actor Aditya Pancholi in a 2005 parking assault case but modified the one-year jail term handed by a magistrate and ordered his release on a bond of good behaviour.

The sessions court, however, directed the 59-year-old actor to pay a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to assault case victim Pratik Pashine for availing the benefit of release under the Probation of Offenders Act.

The Metropolitan Magistrate (Andheri) had in November 2016 convicted the actor under IPC section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and sentenced him to one-year simple imprisonment for assaulting Pashine over a parking dispute in 2005.

Pancholi appealed against his conviction and sentencing in the case.

Additional Sessions Judge D G Dhoble on Thursday partly allowed Pancholi's appeal against the magistrate's order and spared him of the jail term.

The sessions judge ruled that the trial court (magistrate) "has not committed any illegality, irregularity and perversity" in convicting and sentencing the accused to one-year jail term.

"The impugned judgment and order '¦..convicting the appellant under Section 325 IPC is hereby upheld. But instead of awarding sentence of substantial punishment, I hold that the accused is entitled to be released on probation of good conduct under Section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act," the sessions court ruled.

The judge directed the actor's release on furnishing a bond of Rs 15,000 and signing an undertaking that he shall maintain peace and good behaviour for a period of one year and shall not be involved in criminal activities.

The sessions court said the magistrate will be at liberty to take appropriate steps against the accused in case there was any violation of conditions for his release.

As per the case lodged at the Versova police station in August 2005, the actor assaulted and threatened his neighbour during a heated argument over parking space.