Bombay HC rules in favour of Salman Khan and his bodyguard; quashes complaint in journalist ‘assault’ case

In March 2022, the Andheri Magistrate Court had issued a summons to Salman Khan and his bodyguard Nawaz Shaikh after a journalist filed a complaint against the actor in 2019 accusing the actor of misbehaving with him. It was later challenged in the High Court. As per the latest update in the case,  the Bombay High Court, on Thursday, quashed the private case. A single-judge bench of Justice Bharati H Dangre had concluded the hearing. The single bench also reserved its orders in the plea by Salman Khan and his bodyguard on March 21. Dangre said, “Let people have their own privacy, Whether it is an actor, lawyer or judge. None of you is above the law. Neither an actor nor a press person. Even they are bound to follow the law,” during the hearing. Meanwhile, the actor's lawyer, senior counsel Aabad Ponda, claimed that the journalist's words and stance had significantly improved. Bombay High Court ordered to quash the FIR registered against actor Salman Khan, in the case of assault and misbehaviour with a journalist in 2019. Salman Khan will not have to appear in Andheri court. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/0yWKpVuYS3 — ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2023 At the conclusion of the hearing, Justice Dangre also noted that the magistrate had not properly met the requirements of Sections 200 (verification) and 202 (police enquiry) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) when issuing the summons and that the complaint lacked the "threat" necessary to constitute a crime of criminal intimidation. For the unversed, a journalist had claimed that he along with a camera person, tried to film Khan when the actor was cycling. In his complaint, he alleged that though he had the bodyguards’ permission, they allegedly manhandled him and snatched his phone after Khan objected to being photographed. He also alleged that the D N Nagar police had refused to file a complaint, after which he filed a private complaint before the magistrate, seeking criminal action against the actor and his bodyguard. On April 5 of last year, the high court issued a stay of the proceedings, which it upheld intermittently. Also Read: BREAKING: Yash Raj Films’ Tiger vs Pathaan, starring Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, to go on floors in January 2024

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