In a relief to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, Bombay High Court stayed summons by Andheri Magistrate Court against him in connection with the actor's alleged misbehaviour with a journalist in 2019.
The high court stayed the order of the criminal proceedings against Salman Khan and his bodyguard Nawaz Shaikh in a complaint of criminal intimidation filed in 2019 by a journalist till May 5.
The HC has also asked the complainant to file a reply in 4 weeks.
Earlier, the Magistrate court had observed in his order that on the day the incident was reported, there was an altercation between the actor and the journalist. Following which, the Magistrate issued process against Khan and his bodyguard summoning him to remain personally present in Court on April 5.
However, Salman skipped appearing before the magistrate court today and the order was challenged by Khan before the High Court.
As per a report in Bar & Bench, senior advocate Aabad Ponda appearing for Khan, submitted that he had only asked his bodyguards to stop the journalist from shooting him. “If any prosecution, the same be issued against my bodyguards. On the date of the incident the complainant sent a letter to the police station, there is no mention of Khan in that. Thereafter in June when it was filed again, then his name has reflected,” Ponda submitted.
The Bombay HC judge stayed the order issuing summons and posted the matter for hearing on May 5, 2022.
For the uninitiated, journalist Ashok Pandey had alleged that Salman Khan had snatched away his mobile phone while cycling on a Mumbai street when some media persons started clicking his photos back in 2019. The actor had allegedly entered into an argument and threatened the journalist.
In his complaint Ashok Pandey had sought criminal action to be initiated against actor Salman Khan and his bodyguard.
With PTI inputs