Salman Khan acquitted in blackbuck, chinkara poaching cases

Late last year, Salman Khan was acquitted in the hit-and-run case of 2002 by the Bombay high court. Now, the actor has been acquitted in the blackbuck and chinkara poaching cases of 1998 by the Jodhpur high court. The decisions have come as a relief for the Sultan actor.

The high court pronounced the verdict as, according to it, there was no evidence to convict Khan in both cases. The bench said the Jeep driver's testimony in the cases was unreliable.

The cases came to light in 1998 when Khan was accused of killing a blackbuck and a chinkara, both protected wildlife species, while shooting for Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). 

Khan was convicted in both cases in 2006 after a lower court in Jodhpur found him guilty. But the actor appealed to the Jodhpur high court against the decision.

As per latest reports, the Rajasthan government is thinking of approaching the Supreme Court in the matter.