Jaipur– The Rajasthan government has moved the High Court challenging the acquittal of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre, and Dushyant Singh in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.
The leave-to-appeal petition was heard on Friday before Justice Manoj Kumar Garg, who ordered it to be clubbed with other related pending cases. The next hearing is scheduled for July 28.
According to government counsel Mahipal Vishnoi, the alleged poaching occurred on October 1, 1998, in Kankani village near Jodhpur, during the filming of Hum Saath-Saath Hain.
On April 5, 2018, the trial court convicted actor Salman Khan and sentenced him to five years in jail. However, his co-accused – Saif, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre, and Dushyant Singh – were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
The state government is now appealing these acquittals and is also raising concerns over procedural aspects such as permission for transfer petitions and Salman Khan’s sentencing.
Salman Khan’s legal journey in the case includes multiple convictions and acquittals:
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April 10, 2006: Sentenced to five years by the CJM Court; acquitted by the High Court on July 25, 2016. The state challenged this in the Supreme Court, where the matter is pending.
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February 17, 2006: Sentenced to one year in another poaching case; later acquitted. The state appealed in the Supreme Court, with the hearing still pending.
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January 18, 2017: Acquitted in the Arms Act case related to illegal firearm possession during the poaching incidents.
After his 2018 conviction, Salman Khan was granted conditional bail on April 7, 2018, upon depositing Rs 50,000. He remains out on bail, and his case is under High Court review. (Source: IANS)
