Salman Khan hits rock bottom! 5 other high profile convictions that shook the country

The Bollywood star has been sentenced to 5 years in jail: how much lower can things go for him? Convicted in a 2002 hit and run case, Salman’s ‘Being Human’ isn’t really helping. This news has got the nation talking about cases against high profile people and the ambiguity behind such trials. Here are 5 such convictions that have captured the nation’s attention in the past few years.

1. Sanjay Dutt

While many underworld dons and conspirators were exposed after the 1993 Mumbai blasts, it was a shock to the country when Sanjay Dutt was also seen making his way to court. Him? Really? These were the question everywhere.

The actor was convicted for holding weapons related to the Mumbai serial blasts. Sanjay refused to accept his crime and pleaded that he kept a rifle to protect himself from violence during communal riots. Though acquitted by the TADA court, Sanjay was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Eventually, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to five years, a term – peppered by a series of pleas for interim bail – that the star is now serving in Yerawada jail.

2. Ramalinga Raju

After playing fair for the longest time, the former chairman of the Satyam Foundation started flouting the law at the peak of his career. Raju was convicted for one of the biggest financial scams the country had ever seen.

Raju swindled a sum that observers estimated at as high as Rs.7000 crores and overstated company profits. He lost Satyam to Mahindra, along with the good samaritan image he had built up with his work for the Byrraju Foundation.

The Foundation aimed to set right what had gone wrong with society, and provided facilities to the poor. But Raju himself seems to have lost his way at some point.

After previous convictions, on April 9 2015 a special court sentenced him to 7 years in jail with a fine of Rs. 5.5 crore. At this moment, he is in Cherlapally Central Prison, Hyderabad, preparing to appeal for bail.

3. Manu Sharma aka Siddharth Vashisht

In 1999,  he shot a small-time celebrity bartender dead for refusing to serve him drinks. Manu Sharma, son of the former minister Vinod Sharma, was drunk after a long night of partying when he committed the crime. This was one of the most widely followed high profile convictions.

After his initial acquittal in 2006, everybody cast him aside and practically boycotted the Sharmas. In the same year, he was pronounced guilty and sent to Tihar Jail.

He is still there, since the appellate court upheld the 2006 decision in 2010. Even today, the nation mourns Jessica Lal. The event inspired the Ram Kumar Gupta movie ‘No one Killed Jessica’, starring Vidya Balan as the model’s sister.

4. Kanimozhi

She redirected Rs 200 crores to extend the reach of her own channel, Kalaignar TV. Holding 20% rights to the company, she also evaded tax charges.

The former Tamil Nadu CM’s daughter created a furore with the allegations surrounding her. She was put in Tihar Jail, but secured bail after 6 months. Though the family is trying to scuttle all the charges against her, the CBI is looking to file a fresh FIR against her for forging documents in the 2G scam case. Are we talking of a Chennai festival? Not this time!

5. Tarun Tejpal

One fine morning, the protector of justice turned villain. Tejpal, the founder and erstwhile editor of the best known investigative magazine, Tehelka, was charged for twice sexually assaulting a colleague. He was arrested by the Goa police in 2013, but came out on bail in July 2014.

The defence has claimed that the court has not given Tejpal the documents based on which he was convicted. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court granted the journalist time to prepare his papers for further trial.

It’s common knowledge that high profile convictions aren’t simple, and that there is a lot going on behind the scenes. But at least such  convictions reassure the country that the courts aren’t actually asleep!