M A I N   N E W S

Don’t let Salman meet victims’ kin: HC

Mumbai, October 5
The Bombay High Court today asked the police not to allow Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who was allegedly involved in a car accident, or his family members, relatives and friends to meet the mishap victims or their kin.

A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice A.P. Shah and Mr Justice Ranjana Desai made this observation while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by journalists and social activists Nikhil Wagle, Neeru Damle and Sudha Kulkarni.

The petitioners, represented by senior advocate Nitin Pradhan, urged the court to seek amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act and also take strict action against the actor who was allegedly driving the car when it ran over some persons sleeping on the pavement, killing one and injuring four others in suburban Bandra on September 28.

The petitioners, who have made Salman, the State of Maharashtra and the Mumbai police respondents to the PIL, have cited various instances of the actor’s errant behaviour in the past.

The court directed the petitioners to serve notices on Salman to appear before the Bench on Monday, the next date of the hearing. The Bench also directed the state government to submit a copy of the actor’s blood report, details of the complaint registered by the police and the status report of the probe.

The petitioners told the court that the statements of the witnesses must be recorded before a magistrate so they did not turn hostile. To this, the court observed that the state government must look into it.

They told the court that in the past the actor had allegedly assaulted actress Aishwarya Rai. The court observed the actress was free to approach the court in case of any grievances. UNI, PTI