Lawyers say the reason the actor got bailed out after his arrest in an assault case in less time than it takes to watch one of his movies is his superstar status.

Around 8 pm yesterday, making his way through a legion of cameras, actor Saif Ali Khan arrived at the Colaba police station. He was gone 90 minutes later, having paid Rs 15,000 for bail. Experts say Saif was given special treatment, albeit within the ambit of the law.

"The only cases in which the law has been followed and bail promptly granted is when celebrities are involved, even though police are required to grant bail forthwith in comparable cases," said advocate Srikant Bhat, author of Principles and Practice of Criminal Law.

Special case?
Advocate Jabbar Shaikh said, "Normally there are many Section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) cases, which take place in slums. Though the police can choose to give such persons bail, they don't. The cops usually wait till the next morning to produce the accused before the magistrate."

"The normal practice is to wait till the next day and produce the person before the magistrate, in case the accused is an ordinary citizen. If the person is influential, he is granted bail on the spot. For the common man, unfortunately, there is no such relief," said advocate Wahab Khan.

When contacted, Senior Inspector Vinod Sawant of Colaba Police station said, "We have complied with the law in granting Khan bail, upon surety of Rs 15,000." Lawyers say they are all too familiar with situations where police drag their feet with investigations, taking their time to produce accused persons before magistrates, and sometimes, deliberately arrest suspects right before the weekend, making it harder to arrange for bail. Remarkably, in Khan's case, it took all of 16 hours between the time of registering the FIR, and the granting of bail.


Out and about
Saif was arrested on Wednesday after he surrendered to Colaba police and later granted bail by a night court. The actor was involved in a brawl with an NRI businessman at the Taj Hotel on Tuesday night. Sources say, the actor had left his lawyer's office at Gamdevi in his own car but boarded the police vehicle near Nariman Point where he and others were arrested before being brought to the police station.

According to the complainant Iqbal Meer Sharma, deputy director general and CEO of South African Trade Industry and Investments, he along with his wife and father-in-law Dr Raman Bhai Patel had gone to the Wasabi restaurant at the Taj Mahal Hotel when the scuffle took place between him and Saif.

Star party
Saif was accompanied by Kareena and Karishma Kapoor, Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora Ladak, Shakeel Ladak and a few other friends. "We were having our dinner quietly around 12.30 am, when Saif and the others who were sitting on a nearby table started making loud noises. We complained to the hotel management about this. But still the commotion continued. After this we asked the hotel management to shift us to a table on another floor," said Sharma.

Packing a punch
"But when I was going downstairs along with my family, Saif who was returning from the washroom blocked my path and asked me to find a library and go there to find some peace of mind. He went on to push me and punched me on the nose and his friend Shakeel punched my father-in-law who fell. They were using the 'F' word constantly," Sharma claimed.

After this, Sharma, a temporary resident of Juhu, approached a friend and lodged a complaint with Colaba police around 2.30 am against Saif and two of his friends, whom he did not know, under sections 325 (Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intent) of IPC. The two others who were arrested have been identified as Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak, husband of Amrita Arora. Both men were released on bails of Rs 15,000.


Official statement of Saif Ali Khan
"There was an ugly incident last night where my friends and the ladies with us were abused and I was assaulted. I was hit and I defended myself. I have been to the police station to answer the requirements of the law, as I am a law-abiding citizen. I have also filed a complaint about what happened last night and I am confident justice will be done. I have seen the interviews given on TV and they look like decent people and I cannot believe that the same people were so aggressive the night before and the lies that they are saying about me with such straight faces. I think they have the CCTV footage in the restaurant that will prove everything. I hope the media is able to remain impartial while the matter is being decided. I don't think any gentleman would have behaved differently."

IPC section
A complaint against Saif Ali Khan and two others identified as Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak under sections 325 (Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intent) of IPC was lodged at Colaba police station.