Mumbai | The man accused of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan on Friday moved an application before a court here seeking to declare his arrest as illegal and sought his release from jail.

Accused Mohammad Shariful Islam (30), a Bangladeshi national currently lodged in the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, on Friday withdrew his bail plea filed in April before a sessions court here.

Later, the accused, through his lawyer Ajay Gawli, moved an application before Judicial Magistrate First Class (Bandra), seeking to declare his arrest as illegal and sought his release from jail.

In the plea, he claimed that his arrest was illegal as the police did not adhere to the provisions of law while apprehending him.

The court asked the police to file its reply and adjourned the matter till May 13.

Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by the intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 this year. The 54-year-old actor underwent an emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital. He was discharged after five days.

The accused was arrested by the police two days after the alleged incident.