Finally, the day has come which will decide the fate of Salman Khan. The widely publicised hit and run case that took place in September 2007 is a classic example of slow pace of legal procedure in our country. The session courts will finally pronounce Salman either as 'Guilty or Not guilty', in an accident which killed one person and left four persons maimed.
This is one of the most high profile cases, which has dragged for around 13 years and yet all we are concern is will 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' will release on time or not. As many as five families had suffered a severe jolt when a swanky Toyota Land Cruiser had rammed into the pavement in front of American Express Bank in Bandra. The victims sleeping on the pavement were given a meagre compensation of Rs 19 lakhs to be distributed amongst all them, including the family one Nurullah Sharif, who was killed.
For over a decade we have been hearing about the case--- the pointers of the case had been thread-by-thread dissected in the court, tried by the media and discussed elaborately by Salman fans. Ironically, no one has till date talked about the miseries in the lives of the victims, which increased after that fateful night.
There have been some glaring loopholes in the case, which were responsible for the snail speed proceedings. Despite the delay, the cinema loving nation is busy debating how much money is riding on Salman's films in the market.
The fact is that whatever be the decision of the sessions court today, Salman will still have the option to appeal in Mumbai High Court and finally in the Supreme Court.
Legal cases involving celebrities more often than not get reduced to media-circus or a hot topic for tea-time discussion where everybody acquires the right to make a comment. Salman Khan's hit and run case has been no different.
There have been a few glaring loopholes in the case, which has led to the case carry on for long. The prominent among this was Ravindra Patil the prime eyewitness in the case, had given the statement to the police that Salman was drunk and was driving the car. Ravindra died of Tuberculosis, in a Mumbai hospital in 2007. The fate of Salman's case would have been different had Patil was still alive.
Singer Kamal Khan, Salman's cousin was in the Land Cruiser at the time of the accident and had fled the spot with Salman. In a PIL filed by activist Santosh Danndkar, Kamal had not been summoned as the witness in the case. Danndkar seeks perjury action against the Mumbai Police for not examining an eye witness.
The most crucial and confusing part of the entire case is the entry of Salman's driver Ashok Singh. It was baffling to see that towards the final leg of the case, Ashok appeared in the court for the first time and confessed that the he was behind the wheels and not Salman. He further stated that tyre burst caused the accident and not over speeding.
Judge DW Deshpande would pronounce the verdict in a few hours from now, but that would not be a total relief for Salman. The State of Maharashtra can still appeal in the Mumbai High Court and Supreme Court, which means few more years of trial.
Did someone say "Tareekh pe Tareekh," as Sunny Deol said in RajKumar Santoshi's Damini.
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