Bombay HC upholds Manish Khatau scion’s acquittal

Rejecting the state’s appeal challenging the acquittal of Manish Khatau, son of industrialist Mahendra Khatau, in a hit-and-run case, the Bombay high court on Tuesday upheld the sessions court order.

On August 14, 2005, Khatau was speeding when he rammed his Ford Ikon into a police barricade at Marine Drive when taking a U-turn. The barricade went flying and hit constable Jitendra Rokhade on his forehead, seriously injuring him. He was treated in a hospital for six months.

In April 2006, the Sewri sessions court acquitted Khatau for want of evidence. When upholding the lower court’s order, the division bench of justice VM Kanade and justice ML Tahaliyani said: “The constable received a few superficial injuries caused by being hit by the barricade… it does not seem intentional.” The constable recently died.

Advocate Girish Kulkarni, appearing for Khatau, said: “We have volunteered to offer Rs6 lakh to the constable’s wife on humanitarian grounds.”

Manish was booked for attempt to murder and  voluntarily causing grievous injury to a public servant on duty. But, when the police filed the charge sheet, they dropped the attempt to murder charge.

When the trial began, the sessions court, on its own, re-added the charge. After Manish was acquitted for want of evidence, the state government challenged the acquittal in the Bombay high court.

“The high court has upheld the lower court’s judgment and said that the reasoning behind it was correct,” said Pradeep Hingorani, additional public prosecutor.