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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Driving Related Causing Death |
Sentence: |
5 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2002 |
Year Convicted: |
2015 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
India |
County or Region of Crime: |
Maharashtra |
City of Crime: |
Mumbai |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Salman Khan was wrongly convicted on May 6, 2015 of eight charges related an incident in September 2002 when a car he was in ran over several men man sleeping in the street outside a bakery in Mumbai, India. One of the men died and the others were injured. At the time of the incident the 49-year-old Khan was India's leading male Bollywood star -- described as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and George Clooney rolled into one persona -- and in 2015 he was the 7th highest paid actor in the world. Khan's defense was he wasn't driving the vehicle, but the prosecution argued that he was drinking that night, he was driving, and he left the scene of the incident. After his conviction Khan was sentenced to 5 years in prison, however, he was allowed to remain free on bond pending the outcome of his appeal. On December 10, 2015 the Mumbai High Court overturned Khan's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, because it had neither been proven he had been drinking nor that he was driving the vehicle. The Court noted the prosecution's key witness was "not wholly reliable" because there were “various anomalies in his testimony.” Consequently, "On basis of evidences produced by the prosecution, the appellant cannot be convicted, no matter how differently the common man thinks."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 10, 2015 the Mumbai High Court overturned Khan's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove he had either been drinking or that he was driving the vehicle. The Court stated: "On basis of evidences produced by the prosecution, the appellant cannot be convicted, no matter how differently the common man thinks."" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"Salman Khan's conviction in fatal hit-and-run tossed, By Rishabh Pratap, CNN.com, December 10, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/10/asia/salman-khan-bollywood-hit-and-run-conviction-tossed/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Hit-and-run: Salman walks free after lower court order quashed: Salman Khan hit-and-run case: According to the Bombay High Court, the prosecution failed to prove that the actor was drinking and moreover driving the vehicle on the night of the accident, By Ruhi Bhasin (Mumbai), The Indian Express, December 11, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/salman-khan-case-verdict-hit-and-run-2002-bombay-high-court/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Salman Khan, Bollywood superstar, found guilty in fatal hit-and-run case, By Saeed Ahmed and Rishabh Pratap, CNN.com, May 6, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/06/asia/salman-khan-bollywood-hit-and-run-verdict/index.html |
Information Source 4: |
"State cites 46 points against acquittal, The Telegraph (Calcutta, India), January 26, 2016" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160125/jsp/nation/story_65760.jsp#.Vqa5ar9r0Qo |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org