Salman: Next in line?

Mumbai, Sept. 6: When Salman Khan drives to court next week, he might find it difficult to get past Alistair Perreira.

The actor will be in the dock to face charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case when his Toyota Land Cruiser ran over and killed a pavement dweller in Bandra and injured four.

Today, after the high court overturned a lighter sentence for Perreira and handed him a three-year jail term for a similar offence, Salman’s lawyers were struggling to play down talk of a parallel.

“I can’t comment if Perreira’s punishment is unreasonable. All I can say is it will have no effect on Salman’s case. Each punishment is decided taking into account the facts and merits of the particular case,” said Deepesh Mehta, the lawyer who last week won a hard-fought bail for the actor in the chinkara poaching case in Jodhpur.

Salman may have become blasé about court dates, but the September 11 appearance could give him some nervous moments. The prosecution will not have it easy, though.

Witnesses have turned hostile, including the actor’s ailing bodyguard, who is in the last stages of cancer. Also, the actor has been booked for only rash driving under Section 304-A of IPC (causing death due to negligence). The maximum jail term under this law is two years.

Charges were dropped under Section 304 II (act done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death), the more stringent provision under which Perreira has been found guilty.

Some legal eagles believe the Perreira ruling could be a precedent. Sushan Kunjuraman feels Salman could get a similar term if the prosecution builds a watertight case.

Advocate Subhash Kanse said he expects the prosecution to cite the Perreira judgment in Salman’s case. “But there is a difference. In the actor’s case, there is hardly any evidence. Most witnesses haven’t supported the prosecution’s case. The court can’t get emotional with its verdict,” said Kanse.

Salman’s legal warriors have already started blaming the media, saying their campaign against Perreira was partly responsible for the harsh term given to him.

“It’s a trial by the media. For the past few years, a lot of accidents occurred and lives were lost. Public outcry and media hype have grown to huge proportions. But it is the cases of the rich and the famous that have been picked up by the media. This is very unfair,” Mehta said.

Advocate Ujjwal Nikam, the public prosecutor in the Bombay blasts case, said the Perreira verdict was a signal to all those who drive under the influence of alcohol.

The ruling could also be a signal to courts. In May, Ajit Mishra, the additional sessions judge who gave Perreira just a six-month jail term, resigned after Bombay High Court criticised the trial.

The court’s tough line in drink-driving incidents has also boosted Mumbai police, who got convictions in 578 of the 4,321 cases they registered in the past three months. Accidents have fallen, too, from 68 in July 2006 to 38 at the same time this year.