Salman hit-and-run case effect: High Court takes government to task over negligence

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The hit and run case has come back to haunt the government. The High Court decision in the hit and run case was attributed to Bandra police’s negligence in recording the evidence. On Monday, the court posed several questions to the government in this regard and asked to submit the response by Wednesday.
A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and G S Patel asked the government whether any policy was in place regarding action against policemen who carry out faulty investigation. “This appeal (Salman Khan case) reflected negligence of duty by officers who investigated the case. When the investigation was faulty, what action do you propose to take and what action are you taking in suspected cases of drunk driving?” the bench asked.
Earlier in its 304-page judgment while acquitting Khan, the high court had noted that the prosecution had failed to prove all charges against the actor beyond reasonable doubt. There were several infirmities and improvements in the testimony of witnesses, including the injured and star prosecution witness, deceased constable Ravindra Patil.
Government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani has also been asked whether the government has any guidelines in place for collection of blood samples and preserving them or a procedure to send them to the chemical analysis laboratory.
The High Court, while acquitting Khan, had clearly noted that the police did not follow proper procedure while collecting the blood samples and send them to the laboratory, thereby creating reasonable doubt to hold that Khan was not drunk at the time of the incident.
The court also asked about the state government’s proposal to have mobile forensic laboratories in each district for better and quick collection of evidence from the spot of offence. Moreover, the government also needs to inform about how it invokes charges under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). “Is there a set protocol to invoke that charge,” the bench asked.
The court also queried about the procedure to revoke or suspend the licence of the driver, and what is the procedure followed if it is proved that the driver was in an inebriated condition but not proven guilty yet.