A Jodhpur court on Wednesday acquitted Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the 1998 Arms Act case in which he was accused of possessing and using weapons with expired licenses. Khan had allegedly used a 0.22 rifle and a 0.32 revolver to kill two blackbucks in Jodhpur's Kankani village in October 1998 during the shoot of his film Hum Saath Saath Hain.
The prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to prove that Khan was in possession of and used the weapons following which the court acquitted him.
This is one of four cases filed against the actor.
Here is a list of cases filed against Khan:
Arms Act Case, 1998:
A forest guard filed an FIR at Luni police station against Salman Khan and fellow actors Saif Ali Khan and Sonali Bendre accusing them of killing blackbucks in Jodhpur's Kankani village on the intervening night of October 1-2, 1998. They allegedly fled the spot after villagers chased them.
Police investigation revealed that Salman had sent his licensed weapons to Mumbai following which police seized the weapons from Mumbai and registered a case against the actor under sections 325 and 327 of the Arms Act accusing him of possessing and using weapons with expired licenses to kill two blackbucks. Salman was, then, shooting for his film Hum Saath Saath Hain in Jodhpur.
Police filed a chargesheet against Khan under Arms Act in July 2000 following which the Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan High Court sought records of the case in a revision petition filed by the state government in February 2006. Salman's statement was recorded, while 20 witnesses from the prosecution's side were questioned.
In July 2016, the Rajasthan HC also came to the conclusion that the pellets retrieved from Salman's hotel room did not match with the ones retrieved from the vehicle that was allegedly used by the actor for poaching. The actor had also pleaded not guilty in March 2016 when he was summoned by a Jodhpur court for recording his statements in the Arms Act case. He had accused the forest officials of framing him in the case.
The actor's lawyers concluded their arguments in the case on January 5, 2017, following which the prosecution replied to the arguments. Salman was acquitted of all charges on January 18, 2017.
Blackbuck poaching case 1998:
The Bishnoi community lodged a complaint against Salman and four other Bollywood actors — Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam — accusing them of poaching two blackbucks in Jodhpur's Kankani village on the intervening night of October 1-2, 1998. The actors were shooting for their film Hum Saath Saath Hain at that time.
Salman was arrested, but was released on bail in the next five days. However, he was convicted of killing the blackbucks by one of the trial courts under the Act of Wildlife Protection Act in April 2006 and sentenced to five years in jail, along with a fine of Rs 5,000. The Rajasthan HC also sentenced him to five years in prison. He spent six days in jail after which the sentence was dismissed by the HC in August 2007 with an order that Salman should not leave the country without asking for a formal permission.
Fresh charges were registered against Khan in December 2012 under section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. The Supreme Court, in January 2016, stayed the HC's conviction and considered Salman's plea afresh. A Jodhpur court has asked Salman, Saif, Bendre and Tabu to appear before it on January 25, 2017, to record their statements. The case is in its final phase of hearing at the Jodhpur court.
Chinkara poaching case 1998:
In two separate cases filed in 1998, Salman has been accused of poaching three chinkaras — two in Bhawad village on the night of September 26 and one in Ghoda Farm on the intervening night of September 28 and 29. This incident also happened during the shoot of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain.
The case was registered under section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. Salman was acquitted in both the cases in July 2015 by the Rajasthan HC following the actor's appeal against the lower court's verdict that had sentenced him to one year imprisonment in the Bhawad poaching case and five years imprisonment in the Ghoda Farm poaching case.
But the state government challenged the HC's verdict in the Supreme Court and contended that Salman should surrender and be asked to go back to jail. The SC, then, issued a notice to the actor in connection with the case in November 2016.
The case is still pending in the apex court.
Hit-and-run case 2002:
In September 2002, a Toyota Land Cruiser allegedly driven by Salman rammed into a Bandra laundry and bakery causing the death of a labourer and injuring four others, who were sleeping on a footpath. The actor was arrested, but was later released on bail.
Police filed a complaint under section 304-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC. The actor surrendered before police following which he was arrested in October 2002. He was later released on bail.
Salman challenged the application of section 304-II in the Sessions Court, which rejected it, following which he moved the Bombay HC which also deemed it not applicable. The Maharashtra government challenged the HC's decision in the Supreme Court, which said that the magistrate court may decide whether section 304-II can be applied.
The magistrate court added section 304-II and sent the case to the Sessions Court, which framed the same charges against Salman in July 2013. The actor, then, requested for a fresh trial, which was accepted.
The trial court held Salman guilty of the crime and sentenced him to five years in jail in May 2015. However, the Bombay HC acquitted him of all charges in December 2015 after which the state government appealed against the verdict. The family of the labourer who died also moved SC challenging the high court's verdict.
