Finally! In a move that will give the much needed respite to his incredible fan base, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was given  bail by a district and sessions court of Jodhpur, Rajasthan in the 1998 black buck poaching case in which he has been sentenced to five years in jail, as per dictated by the earlier verdict.  District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi allowed Khan's plea for bail. The 52-year-old superstar has been granted leverage suspension of sentence too so that he can file an appeal against his conviction and sentencing.

While Salman has been granted bail, it is argued that this hearing has not gone down well with the animal lovers who have been expecting vouching for belief in judiciary system as wild animals needed to be protected in this case, and that message had to be sent at large. People of the Bishnoi community consider themselves guardians of wildlife, and they share a special bond with the blackbuck, which they believe to be the reincarnation of their guru Jambheshwar Maharaj.

The Dabangg actor had spent two nights in the Jodhpur Central Jail after his sentencing on Thursday, that's two days ago. Khan was granted bail on surety of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount, Defence counsel Mahesh Bora said, adding he is likely to be released this evening once the papers are ready and sent to jail authorities.

Earlier in the day, the judge heard the arguments of prosecution and defence which lasted for about an hour and pronounced the order at around 3 pm, a defence counsel maintained.  It will be pertinent to note that Khan's sisters - Alvira and Arpita - were present during the hearing in the court.

The actor was convicted by a trial court and sentenced to five years in prison for killing two black bucks during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain 1997  here. Other Bollywood stars including Saif AliKhan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre were also slapped against charges in the involvement in the same case.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2018 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).