The
The defence counsel of Salman Khan now get the chance to plead for leniency at the court seeking a lower jail term. They also have the chance of requesting the court to consider the statement of Khan’s
A string of prosecution witnesses, including survivors of the crash, have testified that Khan was at the wheel when his vehicle crashed at speed into a group of half a dozen men sleeping on the street in September 2002.
The trial began in earnest last year after a series of court hearings and legal hold-ups.
When Khan finally took the stand, he pleaded not guilty and told the court that his driver was responsible for mounting the pavement in Bandra West.
A constable attached to Khan's security detail said in his statement to police that the drunk
"The people were sleeping on the footpath. Salman and (his cousin) Kamaal ran away from the spot," the constable, who died in 2007 of tuberculosis, had said.
One of the sleeping labourers injured in the accident said in his statement that "Salman was so drunk that he fell. He stood but he fell again and then he... ran away."
But Khan's lawyers said the actor had in fact been drinking water all evening and had climbed out of the driver's seat after the accident because the passenger side door had been damaged.
They also said that the victim, Nurulah Mahbob Sharif, was killed during an operation to move the car, rather than the crash itself, when the bumper fell off and landed on him.
Finally, last month, his driver took the stand and said he crashed after the front left tyre burst, making steering and braking difficult.
The verdict is being awaited with baited breath, both by his fans and Bollywood studios who stand to lose millions if they have to cancel filming movies he has been signed up to.
One report by PTI said that more than $31 million was riding on the verdict.