Actor John Abraham spent a tense day in court of Friday after the sessions court upheld a lower court’s sentence levied on him in a 2006 rash driving case. Abraham, however, was granted bail by the Bombay high court on a surety of `20,000 by evening.
The actor, who had occupied a corner seat in the court presided by Judge N.V. Nhavkar was nervous the entire day and looked stunned when the court maintained that it did not wish to intervene in the orders passed by the lower court and hence upheld the sentence of 15 days of simple imprisonment.
Abraham’s lawyer Harshad Ponda immediately filed an application for a stay till the defense could file a bail application in the Bombay high court, but the application was rejected. The court maintained that it was an appellant court and hence could not impose a stay on its own orders
Abraham was then taken into custody by officers of the Khar police and taken to the hospital to be subjected to medical tests.
Meanwhile, Mr Ponda rushed to the Bombay high court without even getting a signed copy of the sessions court’s order. He told the HC that a sentence of 15 days’ imprisonment for simple injury caused by the accident was not called for. “Only simple swelling, tenderness and abrasion was caused to the victim and a case of rash and negligent act and under Section 337 IPC was registered. The sessions court has dismissed the criminal appeal against the sentence,” argued Mr Ponda.
High court Justice R.C. Chavan granted Abraham bail on a surety of `20,000 in the sessions court.
On October 14, 2010 the Bandra magistrate court had sentenced the actor to fifteen days’ simple imprisonment in the case. He was immediately released on a bail of `1,500 by the court.
Abraham’s motorbike had skidded and knocked down two persons in Kharon April 7, 2006. He himself then took the injured persons — Shyam Kasbe and Tanmay Majhi — to the hospital. The duo was discharged