New Delhi, May 7: When trial started in the Salman Khan hit-and-run case, 64 witnesses were to be examined. But the prosecution ultimately managed to get only 27 to court.

With witnesses in high-profile cases having the tendency to commit suicide or go missing or die a natural death, the old demand for a programme to protect witnesses and families of victims has been rekindled.

In the 2002 case, the main witness was Ravindra Patil, a constable assigned to the actor as a bodyguard. He had given a statement that he had warned a drunk Salman to drive slowly the day of the Bandra bakery crash.

Patil, who was not given any protection, went missing during the trial and was arrested in March 2006 for not appearing as a witness. Subsequently, he was sacked by Maharashtra police. In October 2007, he died of tuberculosis.

"Witnesses in such cases are threatened, bullied and even paid not to appear in court. If witnesses appear on time and tell the truth, cases will be fast-tracked and it won't take 13 years to come to a judgment," said Neelam Katara, the mother of Nitish Katara.

Nitish Katara was murdered by Vikas Yadav, the son of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav, and his cousin Vishal. Neelam was the first to move a petition in 2003 for a witness-protection programme after which Delhi High Court issued a set of guidelines.

"In my son's case, there was so much fear that people fled their villages rather than be witnesses. Two individuals who were there at the site when Nitish's body was found just disappeared. There was such a fear psychosis about D.P. Yadav," she said.

After the high court issued guidelines, the law commission submitted a report in 2006 advocating implementation of witness-protection schemes.

In 2013, Delhi High Court again directed the Delhi government to frame a policy to ensure witnesses are not harassed or intimidated by influential persons accused in criminal cases. This was after 32 of 101 witnesses in the Jessica Lall murder case turned hostile.

Till date, however, a draft prepared by the Delhi Legal Service Authority and approved by the high court has not been framed into a law.

"A witness-protection programme will ensure that witnesses can depose freely and not feel threatened. They would be provided enough security so that they can come to court confident that their life and liberty will not be at stake," said senior Supreme Court lawyer Kamini Jaiswal, who also petitioned the courts for such a programme.

"The government is not going ahead with the programme simply because it is not a priority for them. They would rather protect the rich like Salman Khan... D.P. Yadav and Manu Sharma. The poor don't have either money or clout."

Jaiswal recommended the US style of witness protection, under which round-the-clock protection is provided to all witnesses in high-threat environments, including pre-trial conferences, trial testimonials and other court appearances.