Saif Ali Khan hotel brawl case: Mumbai court drops Malaika Arora as a witness

The case stems from an incident that took place in February 2012, when Saif Ali Khan and his group of friends allegedly threatened a businessman and punched him

Actor Malaika Arora was dropped as a witness on Wednesday from the 2012 brawl case involving actor Saif Ali Khan after she failed to support the prosecution case. The trial court also cancelled the bailable warrant issued against her after she finally appeared before it.

Malaika Arora (pic from @malaikaaroraofficial/instagram)

The case stems from an incident that took place on February 22, 2012, when Khan and his group of friends allegedly threatened a businessman and punched him in the nose while they were dining at the Taj Hotel. Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, Khan’s wife, had accompanied him that night with her sister Karisma Kapoor, actors Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora, and some other friends at the time. The businessman alleged that Khan and his friends also hit his father-in-law. The businessman in question is Iqbal Mir Sharma, who alleged that Khan hit him after he protested to the raucous chatter of Khan and his friends.

The Mumbai police subsequently booked Khan and his two friends- Shakeel Ladak and Bilal Amrohi in 2014 under sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The trial began in June last year. Khan, on his side, had maintained that Sharma made provocative statements against them and used abusive language referring to women.

Malaika had applied for cancellation of the warrant after appearing before Chief Judicial Magistrate (Esplanade Court), K S Zanwar. In April, the court issued a bailable warrant after she failed to appear and record her testimony as a witness. The matter is scheduled for August 22.