Salman Khan gets relief in journalist phone snatching case, Bombay HC stays summons
India Today
The Bombay HC grants interim relief to Salman Khan against the Andheri Magistrate Court's order asking him to appear before court on April 5.
The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to actor Salman Khan, who had approached the court against the order of the Andheri Magistrate Court. The Andheri court had issued a process and had summoned him to appear before it on April 5.
Before Salman's plea could be heard by the HC, DSK legal, the firm which represents him, had sought an exemption from appearance in Andheri Magistrate Court. The court granted Khan permission and adjourned the hearing of the complaint to May 9.
Meanwhile, in the High Court, advocate Abaad Ponda appearing with advocates Mithilesh Mishra and Parag Khandhar of DSK legal, argued that there had been a remarkable improvement in the complaint filed by the journalist with police on April 24, 2019, and the complaint that he registered before the Andheri Magistrate Court on June 25.
Ponda told the bench of Justice Mohite Dere that a few hours after the incident, the complainant journalist had stated that Salman was cycling on the road, the journalist took the permission to shoot a video. "There is a threat to life so bodyguards were in the car behind Khan when he was cycling. The complainant journalist was in one car. Khan was cycling ahead. In the first complaint the journalist says Khan took the phone and there is no allegation in the first complaint that he hit him, abused him, threatened him," argued Ponda.
He further added, "Khan turned around and said 'stop it' and then he went ahead. He was always ahead. Later, the journalist came up with a completely different case. See the improvements in his complaint where he says that Khan has hit him, which was never in the first complaint. Later, the allegation was that the phone was taken, videos deleted and the phone was handed back."
Ponda claimed that Khan had not said a word to the journalist and that if the allegation was against the bodyguard then the proceedings may go on against him.
Advocate Ejaz Naqwi, appearing for the complainant journalist said, "The complainant was under trauma when the incident took place. He had registered the complaint immediately. Since nothing happened after the complaint, he approached the Magistrate Court. There is no improvement in the complaint."
