NEW DELHI – A Jodhpur court in India will pronounce the verdict today inthe case that involves Salman Khan in which the actor can land in jaileven.
Actors Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu and Sonali Bendre arrived inJodhpur a day ahead of a crucial court verdict in a two-decade-oldblackbuck poaching case.
Salman and the others are accused of hunting and killing two blackbucks in1998 in Rajasthan’s Kankani while the actors were the state for a filmshoot. Blackbucks are endangered species and hunting them is prohibitedunder the Wildlife Protection Act.
Last week, the chief judicial magistrate rural court in Jodhpur completedfinal hearings and reserved its judgment in the case that has been in trialstage for 19 years.
The case dates back to October 1996 when Khan, Saif, Neelam, Tabu andSonali allegedly went on a hunting expedition in Kankani and killed twoblackbucks. They were in Rajasthan for the shoot of Hum Saath Saath Hain.
A case was later filed against Salman Khan, his fellow actors and DushyantSingh following a massive uproar in the local Bishnoi community.
Salman previously won a minor relief in the blackbuck poaching case when atrial court acquitted him of charges under the Arms Act. That acquittal hasbeen challenged in a higher court.
Salman was also named in two other similar poaching cases – both to do withthe alleged hunting and killing of chinkaras, also a protected species.
He was acquitted in both the chinkara poaching cases, acquittals that werelater upheld by the Rajasthan High Court.
The Rajasthan government has challenged the high court order in the SupremeCourt, where the matter is currently pending.