Saif Ali Khan has
approached the session court against a lower court’s order that altered the
charge against him in the 2012 five-star hotel brawl case. The actor is facing
trial before the metropolitan magistrate along with two of his friends for
allegedly beating up an NRI, Iqbal Sharma.
According to a
report in Indian Express, the court had framed charges against Khan in 2013
under Sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (common intent)
of the Indian Penal Code. Four years later in 2016, the prosecution
sought an additional charge under IPC Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) be
added against the actor for allegedly assaulting Sharma’s relative — Ramanbhai
Patel.
In March 2017,
the magistrate’s court allowed the plea by the police and added the section
against Saif.
In his criminal
revision appeal, filed before the sessions court, he has sought that the lower
court’s order be set aside. The actor claimed that the charge of having
assaulted Patel was added as the original complainant (Sharma) is an NRI and
has not turned up to give his evidence.
Saif further said
that this “substantiates” his case that Sharma is unwilling to proceed with the
matter and therefore the police are trying to “substitute” him with Patel to
proceed with the trial.
The actor also
said that Sharma, being the original complainant, did not mention in his
statement that Patel was assaulted by him.
“The learned
magistrate relied on the contradictory statements of prosecution witness whilst
allowing the application of the prosecution…(he) should have considered there
is a delay of almost four years on part of the respondent (police) to prefer
the application for alteration of charge and as such there are no such findings
on ground of delay,” states Saif’s appeal.
He said that the
charge against him was altered without any supportive material on record. The
actor added that if the charge is altered for the trial, it would lead to
“grave prejudice” to him.
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