A sessions court has once again adjourned the hearing of Bollywood actor Salman Khan's appeal in connection with the 2002 hit-and-run case.
Salman had appealed to the Sessions court against a magistrate's order to charge him with "culpable homicide not amounting to murder." The actor was supposed to make his appearance before the Sessions court on 25 March, but he did not appear saying that he did not receive any summons from the court.
Following this, the court deferred the hearing on his appeal to 8 April (Monday). But the hearing was once again postponed to 29 April as Sessions Judge U B Hejib was on leave.
In 2002, a land cruiser allegedly driven by the actor ran over five people, who were sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery on Pali Hill Road in Bandra in the wee hours of 28 September, 2002. A 38-year-old man was killed and four others were injured in the incident.
Salman was earlier tried for rash and negligent driving at the Magistrates court. After probing 17 witnesses, the magistrate invoked the charge of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder" against the actor and transferred the case to the Sessions court for a retrial.
But Salman has argued that the magistrate has erred in invoking fresh charges which comes under Section 304 part II of IPC. Offences committed under this section would attract seven years of jail term.
Legal issues seem to haunt the "Dabaangg" star who is also facing trouble with another case - poaching of two endangered blackbucks during the shooting of Bollywood film "Hum Sath Sath Hain" in 1998.
A Jodhpur court revised the charges against Salman Khan and four other actors including Saif Ali khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam in connection with the blackbuck case. The next hearing of the case has been adjourned to 27 April.
