Salman Khan gets brief respite as court suspends his sentence

E-Paper | April 24, 2026

Bollywood star Salman Khan won't go to jail today as his five-year jail sentence has been suspended, pending appeal, by the Mumbai High Court. The five-year sentence was handed down to the actor earlier this week, for a 2002 hit and run case.

According to The Times of India, the actor will continue to be on bail while he files an appeal against the verdict.

On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande convicted the 49-year-old actor of culpable homicide for crashing his SUV into a group of homeless men in Mumbai and then fleeing the scene. One man was killed and several others were injured in the incident.

If Khan's sentence stands, he'll become the second big-name Bollywood actor to be imprisoned in the last two years. Sanjay Dutt, the star of a series of gangster movies, is currently behind bars over possession of weapons linked to several bombings in Mumbai in 1993.

Meanwhile, Indian newspapers reported that Salman's fan were celebrating the suspension of his sentence outside the court and his home.

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Inanely Atheist

May 08, 2015 01:10pm

He has every right to appeal in higher courts but it feels very saddening to see that rich people keeps on delaying their sentence on preferential basis in a country where a lot of people die waiting for their plea to be heard.

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May 08, 2015 01:15pm

Great News.

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Ravi

May 08, 2015 01:16pm

Its very bad to the victimes and poor.

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Inanely Atheist

May 08, 2015 01:16pm

Its heart wrenching and simultaneously feels very shameful to see the reactions of blind fans who are so enamored by the carefully projected image of their stars that they fail to see the pain of the families of dead and permanently crippled victims.They say he does so many charities but he has never even once asked about the well beings of his own victims.In Hindi there is an idiom "After eating 100 mices, the cat has decided to go for pilgrimage".

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bieng Human

May 08, 2015 01:18pm

Being Human,good to hear

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Khan

May 08, 2015 01:19pm

I am aware that he does lots of charity but instead of putting him to jail, court should make him do community service and order him to build homeless shelters

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Oops...

May 08, 2015 01:39pm

"It will bring two things to together 1) He should choose to go to jail because if suppose we take 8 years of trial for same case in both high court and supreme court after which it is highly probable that he will get punishment at the last than it will more difficult for him to spend time in jail in that age.He will be 60 than and he is having so many Neuro and Cardiac issues which make him difficult to live in jail.2) It will be high pressure on him to get married as soon as possible because if he won't get married now because than he won't get time to get married."

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Sumit

May 08, 2015 01:57pm

feeling ashamed now ,2 days earlier we are talking about indian justice and now this

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May 08, 2015 01:59pm

@Khan he already does that

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Zaheer Khurshid.

May 08, 2015 02:04pm

@Khan Great idea, I second the idea.

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FuZed

May 08, 2015 02:06pm

Now this case will drag on for 5 - 10 more years

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Rahul malhotra

May 08, 2015 02:07pm

If you are elite and rich you are above the law atleast in our country

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Indian

May 08, 2015 02:38pm

In India,If you are rich you can delay the justice but cant deny the same... justice will done surelly!!!But sadly it will not benefit the victimes.Justice should be such that it should benefit the victim.

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Sunil

May 08, 2015 02:42pm

Has four more cases pending against him. Instead of reporting to the police about the accident, he went and hid in his house. Hero only in movies.

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Diwakar

May 08, 2015 02:53pm

Salman become social worker after accident and now he is enjpying that we are so idiots that praising elites we deserve to suffer by elites

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fida sayani USA

May 08, 2015 02:55pm

Disgusting. The man kills and runs away from the scene of crime and later claims that he was not the driver of the car, assuming one takes his words, should not he be staying at the scene of crime and helping the victims instead running away from the scene. This proves that he was the driver of the car and a guilty one. Regarding his fellow Bollywood stars and well wishers who have shown sympathy for him. This shows how power and money talks. Pity there is no sympathy for the homeless victim of the crime.

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Ali Imran

May 08, 2015 03:05pm

A sad day for the victims families, I grieve with them.

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RDP

May 08, 2015 03:07pm

@Rahul malhotra : No, this does not mean that he is above the law. Appealing in a higher court is a constitutional right for every Indian. He is well within his rights to appeal the sentence. If the higher court finds his appeal to be without merit, he will go to jail.

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Harmony-1

May 08, 2015 03:07pm

It's very strange that if the convicted appeals, jail sentence can be suspended. Does it apply to all convicted in India or just the rich and powerful - it’s an innocent question without being condescending?

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natey

May 08, 2015 03:15pm

modi is his friend..he aint gonna go to jail

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Abdullah

May 08, 2015 03:19pm

There is much more he can do on the outside, like give away a share of his earnings from his new movies to the victims or something like that in this way both justice will be served and fans would be happy .

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Whistle Blower

May 08, 2015 03:36pm

GOOD NEWS.....LOVE U SALLU

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Ali

May 08, 2015 03:43pm

There it goes! Our justice system! The more money we have, themore freedom we have. How sorrowful!

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Dinesh Singh

May 08, 2015 03:44pm

@Khan Sorry we don't tend to follow the barter system for justice because by this logic even murderer and rapist will ask for pardon.

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Dipak Singh

May 08, 2015 03:51pm

fyi..Victims family don't want jail of Salman Khan, they expect some help & Aid from salman or Govt. thus their life would be better in future.

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Kamal Pasha

May 08, 2015 04:09pm

Under Modi's government, he will not go free and everybody knows why.

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Menon

May 08, 2015 04:13pm

Expected......

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Riaz

May 08, 2015 04:24pm

He should just pay the blood money per the Islamic Law (he is Muslim, and the person who died was a Muslim as well), where the family of killed and families of injured can lead their life peacefully. Let the bygones be gone, but atleast fix the future of the family members, and that way he can be in peace himself. Rich people aren't above law, however, they can help poor live a better life and pay for their mistakes that way.

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Nastradama

May 08, 2015 04:24pm

Let's be practical. It was an accident, not a pre planned murder.PUTTING HIM IN JAIL IS OF NO USE TO HIM OR THE VICTIM.Unfortunately, there is a tendency to pull down people ,if he is a celebrity.This attitude is more visible in media. The victim was sleeping on pavement. Therefore, Salman should be asked to construct few hundred houses for pavement dwellers as a penalty.

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rajesh

May 08, 2015 04:31pm

I want to know one thing only, why people were sleeping on footpath. Are not the concerned departments of the area(police, municipality, etc. ) involved? This is no excuse that people use to sleep on footpaths. The court need to ask concerned departments. Why our government can't provide basic shelter or what is the reason? But Salman should be prosecuted for rash driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol and also for giving wrong information to court.

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Zak

May 08, 2015 04:37pm

@Khan Salman should provide handsome monthly allowance to his victims for the rest of their lives that is a good punishment.

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mjk

May 08, 2015 04:41pm

so the saga of song & dance continues, more time for Bollywood producers to sell dream world.

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High

May 08, 2015 04:43pm

There were hundreds of proud messages from our neighbour praising the justice system, where are they now...?

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Sarwar

May 08, 2015 05:43pm

@Harmony-1 Any convict , till the appeal is disposed off, will be on bail . The Punishment may get reduced or even increased by the higher courts and the convict will have to serve the judgement of the higher court .. In case of Salman, now Higher court will pronounce a judgement and after that the case will go to Supreme court if SK is not satisfied with the High Court judgement . This is what happened with Sanjay Dutt's case and it took 20 Years to reach the final judgement.

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Aurora

May 08, 2015 06:13pm

He should have been awarded a minimum 7 years imprisonment.His charity started after the incident took place.His wealth had him 13 free years after that. His disrespect towords law is clearly visible in his recent photographs without a seat belt in the moving car.

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Shakeel Rajput

May 08, 2015 06:27pm

@Khan He killed someone! The punishment for that is not community service. He needs to be punished as per the law. What would happen to someone if they drove into Salman Khan and killed him whilst under the influence of drink?

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Weirdity

May 08, 2015 06:35pm

Just imagine the same scenario happening in Pakistan. Blood money laws would have allowed salman to walk free but he is still almost free in india where we don't have such terrible laws.

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anon

May 08, 2015 06:40pm

India and Pakistan are not so different afterall...

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kamal

May 08, 2015 06:45pm

He ran away from crime scene like a coward after commiting a crime, does it matter whether a court convicts or not, he is no hero.

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Dr. Babulal Prasad

May 08, 2015 06:57pm

Money and fame carry weight. Where is justice?

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Harmony-1

May 08, 2015 07:01pm

@Sarwar - Appeal process you described is usually the same world over but what is unusual is release on bail and sentence given is set aside just because convicted person has appealed. As in other countries, once sentenced by any court, the convict should go to prison and appeals from there. With bail granted one can keep appealing forever, from session court to district court to high court to supreme court to president. That can take forever!

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Harmony-1

May 08, 2015 07:05pm

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guest

May 08, 2015 07:28pm

I am saddened that a process that took 13 years is now getting delayed even more. If he is even half the man he portrays himself to be in movies, he should accept his punishment and compensate the victims, and then resume his acting after 5 years. But that is not what he will do.He will go back to his high class rich society and remain there making money and fame.

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kaps

May 08, 2015 07:29pm

@Khan - Sorry for my limited knowledge, Just want to ask if tomorrow Tata's, Birla's, Ambani's do some crime and are they are asked for only to create homes as a punishment, is that justified???

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Nastradama

May 08, 2015 07:35pm

Each one of us are driving everyday.Accidents can happen to any one at anytime. There are hundreds of accidents happening everyday and that many number of people are also killed. If, every accident is booked under murder charges, most of us will go to jail one-day or other. Salman shouldn't pay a price for being a celebrity.

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shahid

May 08, 2015 07:43pm

I hope court will order Salman that in place of jail term, Salman must do enough for these victims (affected by this accident) so they never worry about their future.

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Gus

May 08, 2015 07:48pm

Good , lets not make example of him because he is celebrity. Agree mistake happened but punishment is on higher side. Salman is one celebrity who has invested a lot n welfare and charities. Also how may politicans or police officer and their sons get punished in our society?

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BEWARE: KING TROLL TROLLS THE EARTH

May 08, 2015 08:00pm

@High @Weirdity I assume that there is a deficient understanding of the law being commented upon here, Salman is not free for a fact. In all probability he will go to jail again after the verdict of the higher court. If anything that can be taken away from here is that the functioning of the judiciary needs to pick up to handle the impossible back log of cases.

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Surinder Saini

May 08, 2015 08:20pm

@fida sayani USA agree but that is how justice is given in India and I believe Pakistan is no different when it comes to elite escaping punishment

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Surinder Saini

May 08, 2015 08:22pm

@Harmony-1 Only Rich n Powerful who can buy High court Judge, Sum of 2 Million Rupee, I wonder where the Trail court Judge made a mistake that only High court Judge can see and allowed the sentence to be suspended !

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May 08, 2015 08:25pm

Disgusting.

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Surinder Saini

May 08, 2015 08:26pm

@Sarwar this is basically flawed justice system at work, unless there is point of law or error made in the judgement by the trial court appeal should not be allowed, why examine all the witness again & again in High court, Supreme court by the end of it( i think 20 more years) all will be dead anyway

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umer

May 08, 2015 08:34pm

Being human he should pass his time in jail for irresponsible act. Otherwise being human is just show off or a way to evade tax. At the same time, I'm salman's fan but law should b equal for all.

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Black Sabbath

May 08, 2015 08:39pm

If this were to happen here in the US, Salman Khan would've gone to jail for 20-25 years and more importantly, the verdict would've come in less than 2 years. As an Indian American I feel India's laws need to be updated with the present times. What's the point of justice when the guilty can delay verdict for decades, its ridiculous!

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Dabangg

May 08, 2015 08:55pm

@Khan We can not have different punishments for different people for the same crime.

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Dabangg

May 08, 2015 08:56pm

I am a Sallu fan but why are people celebrating his bail? He was found guilty of killing someone. 5 years is a pretty good deal.

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ash-rai

May 08, 2015 09:08pm

hello being human!!! give 20 crores to victim's family so that they can raise their living's standard. Otherwise they will spend their whole life seeking justice.

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May 08, 2015 09:16pm

JUstice in India same as Pakistan. The rich gets out and the poor goes to the gallows. It is not about religion it is all about the customs, traditions, and culture in these part of the world. If any one really wants to know what religion is all about go to the west.

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SANJEEV KUMAR YADAV

May 08, 2015 09:21pm

Had he been an ordinary man, would he be free?

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guest

May 08, 2015 09:33pm

@Nastradama that is oversimplifying the issue, and an insult to the victims who are affected. Yes accidents do happen all the time, but if you cause an accident because of drinking and driving under the influence, and also driving without a license, then that accident is completely your fault. If you caused it, you must pay for it. Accidents happen all the time, and people die all the time, but that does not diminish the value of human life nor does it throw away the requirement of justice for victims.

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tashu

May 08, 2015 09:43pm

@Kamal Pasha in India government not decide who go to jail and who's not there is seperate judiciary.

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May 08, 2015 10:05pm

@High he is out on bail. Bail is a legal right for anyone as long as you can afford it

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True Speaker

May 08, 2015 10:22pm

@FuZed: and lawyers and police men will make money. After 50 he will go to jail just like Sunjay.

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Shah

May 08, 2015 10:53pm

@Abdullah Well said. He has done enough for poor people. He can do much more for society If he is free.

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Harmony-1

May 08, 2015 10:55pm

@Surinder Saini - Correct...Pakistani elite are no different in escaping from justice...a sad reality!

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Harmony-1

May 08, 2015 10:59pm

@Black Sabbath - A sensible comment for once!

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Surinder Saini

May 08, 2015 11:40pm

@Harmony-1 Not really, USA & Canada have different interpretations of appeal , Federal court or Supreme court will only hear if crucial testimonies or evidence are not presented in the lower court and error was made by the lower court Judge in the admission process, they don't want to waste time like in India and Pakistan

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Yasir

May 08, 2015 11:51pm

Involuntary Man slaughter : Minimum One year Driving under Influence : another 6 months Prohibition : 2 years which includes the total jail term. (Cannot film movies , restricted to community service) Civil fines / Penalty : $150,000 Compensation to Victims Family : $600,000 Basically Mr Salu would be out of public sight for 2 years at the minimum if convicted by court. However: If Mr Salu pleads guilty all the sentence described above should be cut down into half owing a apology to the victim family and the public... except the compensation to the family members should be the same. This is what Mr Salu would have expected (AT THE MINIMUM) if he has done a similar crime in UK or USA. India should not make a mockery out of their legal system.

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Black Sabbath

May 08, 2015 11:58pm

@Harmony-1 : I'm sure as long as its not India vs Pakistan we're talking about, we'll be a lot more agreeable ;). There's only rule my Pakistani friends & I have here - no talking politics!

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Khanm

May 09, 2015 12:19am

In indo PAK the justice is never swift for rich and famous. It is delayed. The irony is we put the poor in jail for petty crimes and for DWI gets released on bail. It is a crime to be poor in sub continent.

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Harmony-1

May 09, 2015 12:48am

@Surinder Saini - That's why I said appal process is "usually" the same world over. In UK too it's the same as you described.

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Allaisa

May 09, 2015 01:23am

Unfortunately the Indian law is different from the US law. In USA it is very rare suspend the sentence while it is appealed. Let us hope the next court to which Mr Khan appeals to acts fast and disposes the case.

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Allaisa

May 09, 2015 01:24am

@Riaz It is India and it does not recognize the concept of blood money. It is disgusting that someone even suggests that.

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Allaisa

May 09, 2015 01:25am

@Dipak Singh Why the Go

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Chetan

May 09, 2015 01:28am

Freedom fighters like Sukhdev, Bhagat singh were smiling upon sentenced death penalty, Dabang Salman was crying upon hearing 5 year's sentence. Yet we forget the real heroes and cherish the false puppets.

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Allaisa

May 09, 2015 01:41am

@Dipak Singh Why the Government? May be the Government should seize his property and distribute it among the victims and make him homeless. After the accident he should have stayed and rendered first aid to the victims. That he did not do and left the scene. His blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. In murder cases or in cases of homicide not amounting to murder the victim has no say as generally they are considered non- compoundable. Also the concept of blood money prevalent in many Islamic countries does not exist in India.

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Allaisa

May 09, 2015 01:59am

@Black Sabbath It is not the justice system that is at fault. It is the lack of resources and back log of cases and the congress government's ineptness that resulted in that. Now it is time that Mr Mode's government did something. Create fast track courts to dispose of cases for serious offences. In US he would have been charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving while under the influence, leaving the scene of accident, driving without license and lying to a police officer (for claiming he was not driving). Only the first one would have resulted in punishment upto 15 years or so but because of his prior lack criminal history he might have gotten away with 5 years. For other acts he might have drawn some punishment but would have served concurrently. So the punishment itself would not have much different.

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Ashan Gul

May 09, 2015 04:37am

Let him do charity work. Build small apartments for small families. At least for three years community work monitored by responsible supervisor. He did not kill on premeditated plan. In jail it would be waist.

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True Speaker

May 09, 2015 05:06am

@Allaisa : I agree with Dipik Singh's comment on your comments. His money should be taken and given to homneless peoples.

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A human

May 09, 2015 07:41am

@SR What is so great about this news. All I read is a rich person is above law!

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A human

May 09, 2015 07:49am

@Whistle Blower How can you love this person after this sad news. Its the lowest level a man can go -- killing people, running away from the scene, enjoying so many years of fame and money, and now with the help of country's best lawyers, despite being convicted, he is moving around as a free man... what a shameful day for justice

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sushil

May 09, 2015 07:56am

@Inanely Atheist Salman hired top lawyer harish salve. I quote ashok khemka -"Salman hype- more apt sentence wud be to deposit 5 year earnings in Road Safety Fund and do 10,000 hours of community service on road safety"

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iloveladoos

May 09, 2015 09:27am

Thank God Sally Bhai. Now you should build homes for homeless!!

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