In December last year, the Bombay High Court acquitted Salman Khan in the 2002 hit and run case. However, little over a month after the verdict, the Maharashtra government has reportedly decided to approach the Supreme Court against the acquittal.
According to Sandeep Shinde, public prosecutor associated with the case, the Bombay High Court has erred in not appreciating the prosecution evidence. He adds that the trial court's order convicting Khan was correct and should be upheld.
In May, a trial court had held Khan guilty of killing a man with his SUV on September 28, 2002, after the actor's car crashed into five people sleeping outside a bakery in Bandra. However, on December 10, 2015, the High Court overturned that order, acquitting the actor of all charges and cancelling his five-year jail sentence. In its ruling, the court stated that the prosecution had failed to establish beyond doubt that Khan was driving and was drunk at the time of the accident. Further, the Court discredited the testimony of a key prosecution witness, Ravindra Patil, who had said that Khan was driving drunk and had ignored his repeated warnings.