Mumbai: A Mumbai court has reissued a bailable warrant against actor Malaika Arora after she failed to appear as a witness in the case pertaining to an alleged attack on an NRI businessman by actor Saif Ali Khan, her brother-in-law Shaheel Ladak, and businessman Bilal Amrohi at a five-star hotel in the city in 2012.
The Mumbai magistrate’s court on Monday reissued a bailable warrant of ₹5,000 against Arora. The matter has now been adjourned until April 29.
The trial, which began last year, centres around an altercation at a luxury hotel in Colaba on the night of February 21, 2012. According to police reports, the incident unfolded when a South African national, Iqbal Sharma, objected to what he perceived as loud behavior from Khan’s group while dining. What allegedly followed was a heated confrontation that escalated into physical violence.
Assault And A Broken Nose
Sharma accused Saif Ali Khan of punching him in the nose, resulting in a fracture. The altercation reportedly extended to Sharma’s father-in-law, Ramanbhai Patel, who was also allegedly assaulted.
Arora, who was part of the group dining at the upscale restaurant that night, was summoned as a witness due to her presence during the incident. Her absence from court has now led to a second warrant being issued to compel her testimony.
On March 29, Arora’s sister, actress Amrita Arora Ladak, appeared in court as the third witness. During her testimony, she stated that she saw Saif being hit by the same individual who had intruded into their private dining area, confronting the group over their noise levels.
The dinner party that night reportedly included stars Saif Ali Khan, his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora, fashion designer Vikram Phadnis, Shakeel Ladak, Bilal Amrohi, and others, reported The Times of India.
Back in 2014, charges under sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code were formally framed against Khan, Ladak, and Amrohi. However, the case took a new turn when the prosecution submitted a plea suggesting that Patel had also been assaulted, although Khan’s name had been unintentionally omitted from that part of the complaint.
In response, on March 4, 2017, the court added an additional charge under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), citing that Saif, “in furtherance of common intention,” had allegedly slapped and beaten Patel.
Khan later challenged this order in the sessions court, arguing that the amendment was made solely because Sharma — a non-resident Indian — was not consistently available for hearings, prompting the prosecution to rely more heavily on Patel’s testimony. However, in 2019, the sessions court rejected Khan’s plea, allowing the trial to proceed, the TOI report stated.
Most recently, in 2023, an additional charge of voluntarily causing harm to a witness was framed against the actor. Saif Ali Khan has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As the case edges closer to a full trial, all eyes will be on whether key witnesses—including Malaika Arora—comply with court directives and provide their testimonies. With over a decade since the incident first made headlines, the proceedings continue to draw public and media attention, shining a light on the intersection of celebrity and accountability.
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