Actor Salman Khan, giving his version of a 2002 hit-and-run case for the first time in a court today, said he was not driving the SUV that ran over people sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai, his driver Ashok Singh was.

One person was killed and four people were injured in the accident.

Testifying in a Mumbai sessions court, the 49-year-old repeatedly denied that he drove his Toyota Land Cruiser at a high speed, in a drunk state, in the early hours of September 28, 2002.

"My left door was jammed so I could not open it," Mr Khan said when the court asked him to respond to witnesses - including his bodyguard Ravindra Patil - saying he exited from the driver's side.

He admitted to sitting on the driver's seat, but claimed he did so only briefly when one driver got out and another, Ashok Singh, took over.

On the statement of a parking attendant who had said that he handed over the car to the actor, Mr Khan said "I don't remember."

He did not deny that he was at a bar with brother Sohail before the accident but said he only drank water and never ordered any cocktails, as indicated by bills. The bills made out for drinks as well as food, he said, were not his.

The court asked: "Munnu (witness) said you were drunk and fell down and then got up and fell again?" He replied, "False." The actor also disputed accounts that he ran away after the accident.

"I instructed the driver to inform the police. I remained at the spot for 15 minutes or more," he told the court. Salman Khan's sisters were present in court when he recorded his statement.

The actor is being tried for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. He earlier faced a lesser charge of death by negligence, for which the punishment is a maximum of two years in jail.