Black bucks killing: Hearing on Salman Khan's plea

After a five-year delay, the hearing on an appeal filed by actor Salman Khan challenging the one-year jail term awarded to him in the black bucks killing case will begin from tomorrow in the district and sessions court.

Khan had filed the appeal on March 9, 2006 challenging his conviction under the Wild Life Protection Act by the chief judicial magistrate on February 17, 2006 in the case of poaching oftwo black bucks in Bhawad near here on September 26, 1998 during the shooting of film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

Seven other accused in the case, including actor Satish Shah, were acquitted.

The appellate court suspended the sentence on March 10, 2006 but before the hearing on the appeal could progress, the state government filed a revision petition in the high court terming the sentence as inadequate and challenging the acquittal of others following which the case documents were sent to the high court.

However, the documents have now been submitted to the court of appeal, clearing the decks for commencement of hearing on Khan's plea.

"In the absence of these papers, the hearing on appeal got stalled and a requisition of these papers was sent to the high court, which have reached the appellate court and now the hearing will progress in the district & session court from Tuesday," said HS Saraswat, Khan's counsel.

Meanwhile, the high court has adjourned till August 29 the revision petition filed by the state government objecting to the trial court's deletion of charges under different sections of IPC and Section 27 of Arms Act against Salman Khan and co-accused in the case of poaching of two black bucks in October 1998 at Kankani.

Government counsel Mahipal Bishnoi said that the lower court had framed charges against Khan and others on February 2, 2006 under different sections of IPC and Arms Act, against which a revision petition was filed by them in the sessions court, which transferred it to the ADJ court.

The ADJ partly accepted the petition and deleted the charges under different sections of IPC and section 27 of Arms Act keeping only section 51 of Wildlife Act against Khan.

SRC