Blackbuck Poaching Case: Salman Khan's Hearing in Jodhpur Court Adjourned to June 4 Due to Coronavirus Lockdown
Salman was convicted on March 5, 2019, sentencing him to five years in prison. The other five co-accused were acquitted. Salman had challenged his conviction and moved the Jodhpur high court for his acquittal. The latest hearing for the case was supposed to take place on April 18, 2020, but it won't be possible now because of the COVID-19 lockdown imposed across the country.
It has been over two decades for Salman Khan's blackbuck poaching case still running in the court. The case was slammed on the actor by the people of the Bishnoi community in Jodhpur, where the actor was shooting for a film in 1998. In the long-running case, Salman was convicted on March 5, 2019, sentencing him to five years in prison. The other five co-accused were acquitted. Salman had challenged his conviction and moved the Jodhpur high court for his acquittal. The latest hearing for the case was supposed to take place on April 18, 2020, but it won't be possible now because of the COVID-19 lockdown imposed across the country. As per reports, the court has adjourned the hearing to June 4.
Back in September 2019, the hearing was adjourned to December 2019. Following an application by his counsel saying that Salman is busy with a film shootings, the court granted him an exemption.
The hearing did take place in December 2019, but Salman was absent from it. The judge of Jodhpur court asked about his absence at the court and has asked him to appear before the court during the next hearing.
The next hearing took place in January 2020 from where Salman continued to be absent. The Jodhpur high court, led by Justice Manoj Kumar Garg, deferred the hearing on a state government plea challenging the acquittal of Bollywood actors in the case to March 7.
Salman was summoned by the court to appear in the hearing on March 7, 2020. The actor did not appear before the court but was represented by his lawyer, who submitted an attendance apology. The meeting was eventually postponed to April 18, 2020, due to the appointment of District Judge Chandra Kumar Songera as the new Rajasthan High Court Judge.
Let us see if Salman makes it to the court on June 4 or not.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2020 10:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).