Khan, 47, is alleged to have rammed his Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle onto a pavement and over five sleeping homeless people in suburban Mumbai, killing one and injuring four others. PHOTO: FILE
Khan, 47, is alleged to have rammed his Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle onto a pavement and over five sleeping homeless people in suburban Mumbai, killing one and injuring four others.
Khan, wearing a grey shirt and black trousers, pleaded not guilty to charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder in a Mumbai sessions court, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said.
Prosecutor Shankar Erande asked the judge to frame the charges on Wednesday, rather than adjourn, as the actor was going abroad for two months, which could further delay the trial, PTI said.
The judge then read out the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Khan was earlier being tried under lesser charges of rash and negligent driving but prosecutors filed an application for the charges to be upgraded, which the court upheld this February.
Petitioner Abha Singh, who was present in the courtroom on Wednesday, told media outside the court that the judge, while framing the charges, said "Salman Khan's blood contained 30 mg of alcohol, according to that he was drunk."
Mumbai's laws prohibit anyone from driving or attempting to drive a vehicle if their blood alcohol levels exceed 30 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood.
Singh has filed a separate petition questioning the decade-long delay in trying Khan.
Khan -- known for his muscular physique and off-camera fits of temper -- has been a controversial figure since he first broke into Bollywood in the late 1980s in the romance film "Maine Pyar Kiya" (I Fell in Love).
In 1998, he spent more than a week in prison for killing endangered Indian gazelles in the northern state of Rajasthan.
COMMENTS (49)
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@manoj: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunkdrivinglawbycountry
well here are the laws in different countries.In india it is considered DUI if blood level is more than .03 i.e. 30 mg;so upto 30 is still not DUI;some countries the level is as much as 80 mg upto which a person is not considered DUI. My point was even if not DUI he is still liable for reckless driving and hit and run.
csmann, Salamn Khan is accused of a hit-and-run case in Mumbai. Mumbai is in India. Mumbai is not in the UK. The blood alcohol content that decides whether you are drunk or not varies dramatically from country to country. Why are you posting a link about alcohol laws in the UK about a criminal case that occurred in India?
nothing has been proved against salman khan so far..he is innocent unless convicted by court..the case has been going on for 11 years and still they are unable to find anything against salman..he is a true superstar and is doing great job through his being human charity..may he stat safe n healthy..love u salman..
@Singh: I think it is you who need the education.Dont comment on a thing that you have no idea about.
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/alcohol-and-the-law/drink-driving
@csmann: 30 mg is blood alcohol level. Get some education first.
To all Pakistanis who are siding towards Salman, What if the 5 people died were muslims? They died, they are poor... Think about their families. I believe we will set a very good example for all those spoilt brats who drives like maniacs. Good decision by judiciary..
@Water Bottle:
Spoken like an Indian muslim.:D
lol Indian courts
@Water Bottle:
Hope you are sarcastic on which, people started recommended without knowing the actual meaning behind it.
he can share cell with Sanjay.
@Faiza: You missed something called diyat. if you kill someone and if you pay his family some money then you are scott free. #RaymondDavis
@Hasan: Get your facts right. Sanjay dutt's mother was half muslim. Nargis dutt's father was hindu and mother muslim.
30 mg of alcohol is not considered drunken state. The accident could well be reckless driving. But the worst thing to do was to run away from the scene rather than helping the injured(hit and run is considered a crime in all civilized countries)
My countrymen do not understand that this drunken brat did the crime and killed poor innocent people. In most countries if you do the crime you do the time. This may be an alien concept to our rich and powerful in Pakistan but it is the law in most countries.
Salmans mom is a hindu/ dad a muslim. Sanjays dad was a hindu / mom a muslim. India is secular - we don't care what your religion is - you commit a crime - u will be held accountable. Simple.
@vijay: I am a Sikh and not Pakistani. The comment was sarcastic and shame on you that you do not have an iota of humour.
@Hasan: Wrong. Nargis converted to Sikhism when she married Sunil Dutt. Hence Sanjay's mother was Not Muslim but Sikh. In any event, no one including Sanjay has claimed that he was falsely accused. All he was asking for was leniency in sentencing.
@munir ud din: India does not have shariah. There is no concept of blood money in Indian penal code. Thank God. Justice should be same for everyone. Not one justice for rich who can escape paying blood money and ago ther for poor who do not have any such luxury.
Rohit, it is widely known that Sanjay is a practising Muslim - he became one after his first jail term. You can Google videos of him offering prayers. I agree with you on other points but you are incorrect to claim that Mr. Dutt is a Muslim. And yes, I do feel that he was wrongly indicted, as is the case of Salman.
@qam: I wonder if you would still say the same thing if one of your relations or any close friend had slept that night on the road and Mr. Salman Khan had run him/her over with his imported car in a state of drunken stupor. This is not about people sleeping on the roads -- or about Hindus or Muslims -- but about justice. The rich and famous are not above the law in India (perhaps, this may be different in lawless Pakistan!). Whether you like it or not, democratic India demands accountability from ALL, including the powerful ones.
though according to law of the land he should serve 5 to 1o years in jail
some pakistanis always needs a reason to self-assure about creation of Pakistan get a life guys your country must be just behind Syria in total Muslim deaths
@TightPatloon: You were the inquiry officer? Pakistanis are masters of conspiracy theory.
@munir ud din: This type of justice happen in land of pure?
@Raj Kafir: You Pakistani's cant think beyond religion. Shame on you. He killed so many innocent people because of his bad habits but instead of having sympathy with victims you Pakistanis have sympathy with culprit Shame on you people. Grow up. i
If he is guilty, he must pay the price..!!
@Rohit: Sanjay Dutt's Mother was a Muslim. We can see the oppression being carried through generation. #GreatArgument
@Water Bottle: What is wrong with you? Salman Khan is clearly a Muslim not a Hindu.
How unsecular
easily proven not guilty as roads and footpaths are not meant to sleep. and accidents are not enlisted in murders either your drunk or not
Why he always run his car on sleeping homeless ppl. He has done it again!
@Water Bottle and all my other Pakistanis Friends who are talking about Muslims not safe in India. Just to remind you that another great actor with the name Sanjay Dutt is already in jail and he is a Hindu. So law in India does not care about the religion of the person but punishes person according to his crime. Salman Khan ran his vehicle over 5 people and he has to pay for his act. Hritik Roshan or Ranbir Kapoor would have also been charged in the same way if they had done this. Maybe in Pakistan celebrities get away from apprehension but sorry not in India.
Dont worry brother, we will come in our horses and free you after 2014.
@TightPatloon: Why not bring them to pakistan..............?????? frontier province is idle for these type of people............
@TightPatloon
You really need to loosen that patloon
He has been charged with 'culpable homicide NOT amounting to murder'. Don't know where AFP reporter is checking their facts from.
oh nooooooooooooooooo.... saaluuuuu :(
Another example of Indian judicial system victimizing popular muslims. Clearly a case of bias when his blood sample was meddled with
E T
Please correct your headline. He is not charged with murder but is charged with culpable homicide. This is lesser than murder charge.
He should get life term jail. he has several crime case.
@ET wrong news head line....don't do silly mistake. copy & paste is not tedious job.
We do not have any interest about Bollywood / Indian news - why don't our media cares about our national problems.
instead of sending sanjay and salman to jail. ask them to pay. they can afford.
India is anti Muslims.
There must be a protest in Pakistan now....Another muslim down in Hindu India....isn't it ???? Shame on Pakistan....
This is the true color of Hindus.
Thanks to Jinnah, Pakistani muslims are safe from such oppressions.
How come culpable homicide not amounting to murder has become murder in headline?
That's a screenplay that Salman doesn't like at all.