Two days after he was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail in the 2002 hit-and-run case, actor Salman Khan was on Friday granted bail by a Mumbai sessions court after the Bombay High Court suspended his sentence.
In keeping with the HC directive, Salman surrendered before the sessions court and executed a fresh bail bond of Rs. 30,000.
Sessions judge D.W. Deshpande asked the actor to furnish a surety of the like amount within two weeks.
The 49-year-old actor appeared much relieved as he left the court for his Bandra home. Hundreds of exultant fans gathered outside the court as the actor arrived to complete the legal formalities.
As Salman, clad in blue denim jeans and a white shirt, came out, the crowd cheered him.
Sessions court judge D.W. Deshpande had on Wednesday sentenced Salman to five years’ rigorous imprisonment, but hours later the high court gave him interim bail for two days.
After admitting his appeal against conviction on Friday, Justice Abhay Thipsay of the Bombay High Court suspended the sentence and ordered grant of bail. The actor was asked to execute a fresh bail bond.
Justice Abhay Thipsay has posted the appeal for hearing on June 15.
Salman Khan in the eye of the storm
Other controversies
- » Blackbuck case: He was accused of poaching two Blackbucks in 1998 near Jodhpur during the shooting of 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'. He was sentenced to one year prison.
- » Comments about 26/11 attacks: “It was the elite that was targeted this time. So they panicked. Then they got up and spoke about it. My question is why not before? Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much,” Salman said in 2010. He claimed that Pakistan cannot be held responsible. He later apologised.
- » Aishwarya Rai in the picture: After their presence in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, the couple’s relationship was in the eye of the storm. After they broke up in 2002, Aishwarya alleged that the actor harassed her, as he was unable to come to terms with the ending of their relationship. A case was also registered by Aishwarya’s parents.
- » Brawl with SRK: In 2008, the two actors allegedly got into a fistfight during a party. The relationship between the two stars has never been the same since then. However, the two actors got back together on a good foot in an Iftar party and SRK attended Salman’s sister’s wedding. SRK visited Salman hours before the verdict on hit-and-run case.
- » Vivek Oberoi’s allegations: The actor accused Salman of "threatening to kill him, abusing and indulging in character assassination." It was rumoured that Vivek Oberoi and Aishwarya Rai were in a relationship.
>Salman Khan convicted in hit-and-run case
Justice D.W. Deshpande held the Bollywood actor guilty of all counts rejecting his claim that his driver Ashok Singh was at the wheel when the accident took place.
The Bombay High Court on May 8, 2015 stayed the conviction and gave bail to the actor upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 30,000.
>How the hit-and-run case unfolded
From initial charges to the final verdict, here's a timeline of the case that spanned over a massive 13 years.