Five-star hotel brawl case: Court rejects Saif Ali Khan’s plea against order adding new assault charge

Khan is facing trial along with two friends for allegedly beating up NRI Iqbal Sharma. In 2013, the magistrate’s court had framed charges against the actor under sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

In 2016, the prosecution sought an additional charge for the alleged assault on Sharma’s relative, Ramanbhai Patel, by adding section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) against Khan.

Khan, in his appeal seeking to set aside the lower court’s order, had stated that the charge of having assaulted Patel was added because the original complainant (Sharma) is an NRI and has not turned up to give his evidence.

Khan further stated that this “substantiates” his case that Sharma is unwilling to proceed with the matter and therefore the police is trying to “substitute” him with Patel to proceed with the trial.

Khan has further said Sharma, being the original complainant, did not mention in his statement that Patel was assaulted. Additional Public Prosecutor Pankaj Chavan had submitted to the sessions court that the lower court had added the section according to evidence available in the case.

In February 2012, Sharma along with his wife and others were at Wasabi restaurant in Taj Hotel in Colaba, where on a nearby table, Khan, wife Kareena, sister-in-law Karisma Kapoor and others were dining.

In his complaint, Sharma had said the noise from Khan’s table was disturbing them and when he objected to it, the two of them got into a scuffle with Khan allegedly assaulting him.