Saif Ali Khan 2012 assault case: Trial likely to begin from June

Following an alleged altercation at the Wasabi restaurant within the Taj Hotel on February 22, 2012, businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma filed a complaint, and the suspects were subsequently detained.

The trial in the case is expected to start next month, eleven years after the actor Saif Ali Khan and two others are accused of assaulting a South African business person and his father-in-law in a Mumbai hotel. On April 24, accusations against Khan and his two associates, Shakeel Ladak and Bilal Amrohi, were read out by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate at Esplanade court. The trial, which is anticipated to start on June 15—the next day of hearing in the case—was also made possible by issuing summonses to witnesses to record testimony.

Following an alleged altercation at the Wasabi restaurant within the Taj Hotel on February 22, 2012, businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma filed a complaint, and the suspects were subsequently detained. The three suspects were later granted bail and released. At the time, Saif Ali Khan travelled with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, her sister Karisma Kapoor, actors Malaika Arora Khan and Amrita Arora, and a few male acquaintances.

Police claim that when Sharma objected to the actor and his friends' boisterous conversation, Saif Ali Khan allegedly threatened them before punching him in the nose, breaking it. The NRI businessman had also charged Saif and his pals of assaulting Raman Patel, his father-in-law. On the other side, Saif Ali Khan asserted that Sharma's aggressive remarks and foul language towards the women with him caused the commotion. The police submitted the charge sheet on December 21, 2012.