Saif Ali Khan Arrested for Assaulting Businessman, Released on Bail

One of Bollywood's biggest stars ended the night of February 21–22, 2012, in a Mumbai police station. Saif Ali Khan was arrested for allegedly assaulting NRI businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma at the Wasabi restaurant inside Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel — and released on bail within an hour, on a surety bond of Rs 3,000.

The confrontation started, by Sharma's account, when he asked the hotel staff to get Saif's table to quieten down. Saif was dining with Kareena Kapoor, her sister Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora, and male friends, and the party's raucous chatter had drawn the objection. According to police, Saif allegedly threatened Sharma and then punched him in the nose, fracturing it; Sharma's father-in-law Raman Patel was also allegedly struck by the actor's companions.

Saif, along with friends Shakeel Ladak and Bilal Amrohi, was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), a bailable offence. He was arrested at his lawyer's chamber in Nariman Point and taken to the Colaba police station.

The actor's version was sharply different. In a statement, he said Sharma had used abusive language against the women at his table: "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." He added that he had also filed a complaint and was confident justice would be done.

The story kept going for years. Police filed a chargesheet in December 2012, charges were framed under IPC Sections 325 and 34 in 2014 — with all three pleading not guilty — and the trial finally began moving in 2023, eleven years after the brawl. One night of fine dining, still being litigated a decade later.

Sources

• Saif Ali Khan granted bail after arrest for assault — Bollywood Hungama
• Chargesheet filed against Saif in hotel brawl case — SantaBanta