The Salman Khan case.

radiobox · 05-06-2015, 10:57 AM

Short intro:

Salman Khan is a prominent actor in the Hindi film Industry.

In 2002, he is was involved in a hit-and-run case, where a pedestrian dweller was run over by the car allegedly driven by him, in a drunken state in the middle of the night.

The verdict delivered today by a sessions court, after 13 long years declared him guilty and sentenced him to 5 years in prison.
This being a sessions court verdict there'll be a High court appeal to get him out first and perhaps a Supreme Court case depending on how things progress.

That is the short intro. Detailed stories can be found online.
Here is one from msn .

It is another case of justice delayed. I gather in this case they'd been debating for a good many years on what crime to book him for and he too was trying to bluff his way out.

Well, what am wondering about is the verdict.
I wish the legal system, media etc would start thinking different.

The incident apparently seems to have brought out the goodness in the man who is known to have been very rash in his younger days. Or it could be that age along with it has mellowed him. In the past few years, he has involved himself in some 'human welfare' measures. (Being Human)

My feeling is this. Instead of sending him to prison, at this stage, why not 'punish' him by making him use his abundant wealth, fame etc in a manner that could be considered as compensation for the crime.

Sending to jail certainly sends a message to others that drunken driving is inadmissible, but from what I see that is not going to stop and cops and legal system are terribly slow and ineffective.

I personally would have been happy to seem him confess to the crime and for the court to deliver a verdict which wasn't just imprisonment. Law and lawyers make this difficult, but after 13 years I felt the court could have had a chat with him making him confess and set a new trend. At least that is how I felt in this particular case. It is probably idealistic, but I just felt it was an opportunity lost for both the man and the legal system.

Not sure if that was cogent, but I don't feel like saving it as a draft now. So here goes...

Feel free to share your views/news on this issue.

(This post was last modified: 05-06-2015, 10:58 AM by radiobox.)

sporkium · 05-06-2015, 05:12 PM

what you are proposing sounds goodish, but isn't really. what you are proposing is a second set of standards based on wealth and ability which would basically allow the rich and famous to commit crimes and if found guilty, serve community service sentences instead of prison time.

LZA · 05-06-2015, 08:47 PM

(05-06-2015, 05:12 PM)sporkium Wrote: what you are proposing sounds goodish, but isn't really. what you are proposing is a second set of standards based on wealth and ability which would basically allow the rich and famous to commit crimes and if found guilty, serve community service sentences instead of prison time.

Wouldn't that be his sentence already, since he is an actor, and probably a part of the rich, upper class of the caste system. Anyone in the lower class would see prison time I'm sure...

radiobox · 05-06-2015, 11:33 PM

I suppose so. I guess their lifestyles would prevent them from true repentance.
In fact a couple of the persons in the actor's circle even tweeted that it was not his fault, but that of the persons sleeping / spending the night on platforms.

It occurred to me later perhaps the court should take away all or a good % of their wealth + prison.
Prison it is for the moment. But it seems very easy for these high profile cases to get a bail.
I suppose Prison is the place where one can truly repent.

I'll update my verdict. No point being sympathetic to these people. :-)

LZA · 05-06-2015, 11:47 PM

(05-06-2015, 11:33 PM)radiobox Wrote: I suppose so. I guess their lifestyles would prevent them from true repentance.
In fact a couple of the persons in the actor's circle even tweeted that it was not his fault, but that of the persons sleeping / spending the night on platforms.

It occurred to me later perhaps the court should take away all or a good % of their wealth + prison.
Prison it is for the moment. But it seems very easy for these high profile cases to get a bail.
I suppose Prison is the place where one can truly repent.

I'll update my verdict. No point being sympathetic to these people. :-)

I'm not familiar with the case (i'll admit that up front this time), but from what you, SJ and others told me about the caste system, I'm guessing he's gonna get the OJ Simpson treatment (the more money you have the less guilty you are)...

There are travesties happening in your area of the world and mine (in everyones I guess) People are getting away with shit that they shouldn't because of money or stature and that's not right...

Kinda off topic, but big oil companies and whatnot get big tax breaks but fuck me I have to pay my $3000 tax bill... Which I'm happy to pay to be a citizen here, but none of it's fair is what I'm trying to say I guess. I think if you can afford more you should pay more because you wouldn't have the lifestyle without it... just like this Salman Khan douche. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth doesn't realize how good he's had it...

fuckers

(This post was last modified: 05-06-2015, 11:49 PM by LZA.)

radiobox · 05-08-2015, 02:20 AM

What Drama!
Sessions court sentences him to 5 yrs in prison (yest) after 13 years.
Today his sentence is suspended by Bombay High court. So no jail term. (That's speedy justice !!)
Prosecution has meanwhile filed an appeal against grant of bail in the Supreme Court. (wait another 5 yrs I guess.) Bollywood goes all out to support the actor.

Every TV channel covers nothing else but this drama. This bugs me no end actually. More drama tonight am sure.

Lakhs languishing in jail because they don't have money to file a bail. Ref

Salman's bodyguard cum cop (Ravindra Patil), who was with him in the car during the accident, and a key witness, is sacked from service in Nov 2006 (4 years after incident) for not reporting for duty. Abandoned by family, he is later found on the streets of Bombay with tuberculosis. He is admitted to hospital and dies in Oct 2007.

Right or wrong, one of the reasons actors are hated much is perhaps because of the uber rich lifestyles and swagger.

Edit: Found this report on Ravindra Patil. Well written; makes me feel sick and sad for him. Link

(This post was last modified: 05-08-2015, 03:06 AM by radiobox.)

LZA · 05-08-2015, 02:31 PM

(05-08-2015, 02:20 AM)radiobox Wrote: Right or wrong, one of the reasons actors are hated much is perhaps because of the uber rich lifestyles and swagger.

I wonder if America is headed in that direction...With the erosion of the middle class I mean... Were aiming towards a country of super rich and super poor.