Highlights
- Salman Khan will have to appear in court in connection with the 14-year-old poaching case on February 4, 2013, a Jodhpur court has ruled. Actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam have also been directed to appear.
Bollywood star Salman Khan andthree other actors were today summoned by a local court toappear before it on February 4 for chargeframing in the BlackBuck poaching case, 14 years after the incident.
The lower court had framed Salman Khan under relevantsections of the Wildlife Act, the Arms Act and the IPC whilethe others, including actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabbu, SonaliBendre, Nilam, Dushyant Singh and Dinesh Gawre, were framedunder the Wildlife act and the IPC, defence counsel HastimalSaraswat said.
The accused had then filed a revision petition in thesession court which discharged Salman Khan from Section 27(illegal possession of arms) of the Arms Act and 148 (riotingwith deadly weapons) of IPC whereas the others were dischargedof section 51 (causing harm to wildlife) of Wildlife Act andboth under 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (unlawfulassembly of persons) of IPC.
Saraswat said the state government then filed a revisionpetition in the Rajasthan High Court which upheld the decisionof the session court in Salman's case whereas added section149 of IPC against the others, which the session court haddropped.
Two endangered Black Bucks were allegedly poached on theintervening night of 1-2 October, 1998, at Kankani villagenear Jodhpur during the shooting of the Bollywood movie
HumSaath Saath Hain.
The trial will now commence in the lower court with therevised charges for which the court has summoned all theaccused to hear the charges on February 4.
All the accused had last appeared in the lower court onJune, 19, 2006 but revision petitions first by the defence andthen by the state government had held up the trial.
Salman Khan was convicted and sentenced to 1-year and 5-year prison terms in separate cases of poaching of twoChinkaras at Bhawad and one Black Buck at Ghoda Farm(Mathania) on the intervening night of 26-27 September, 1998and 28-29 September, 1998 respectively.
Appeals against these sentences, both by Salman Khan andthe state government, are pending in the High Court sincelong.