No proof that Salman Khan was drunk: Amit Desai

Actor Salman Khan's counsel Amit Desai told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the fact that late police constable Ravindra Patil did not mention alcohol in his first statement to the police destroyed the prosecution's case. Patil was with Khan in the car at the time of the accident in 2002, and was the complainant in the case. His statement was recorded on September 28, 2002.

Desai said, "How did Patil, who claimed to be sitting next to Khan in the car, not smell the alcohol on his breath? Why did he not mention it to the police, when he gave his statement around 5.45am on the day? This omission destroys the prosecution's case."

He also argued that unlike other criminal trials, the prosecution had wrongly shifted the entire burden of the proof on the accused. Urging the court to take note of such omissions, Desai argued that the prosecution failed to examine any witnesses who could help establish that Khan was drunk at the time of the incident.

Khan has challenged the five-year sentence handed down to him in May. The trial court has held that he was under the influence of alcohol when he drove over people sleeping on the pavement, killing one and injuring four others.