The Jodhpur sessions court Thursday (April 5) convicted Salman Khan in 1998 blackbuck poaching case and sentenced him to five years jail term. The court also fined him Rs 10,000.

Other accused celebrities in the case - Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam Kothari and Tabu - were acquitted of all charges. Salman will now have to spend a night in Jodhpur jail as the district judge will hear his bail plea at 10:30 am, Friday (April 6).

The verdict has come as a major setback to Salman as many big budget projects will have to pay a huge price if the actor fails to get bail and faces the awarded jail term.

ALSO READ: Salman Khan goes to jail in blackbuck poaching case, bail hearing Friday

However, Salman may move an application in the apex court asking for time to surrender so that he can complete the shooting of his remaining projects which are worth crores of rupees.

Remo D'Souza's directorial Race 3 starring Salman is slated to release this Eid June 15, 2018. The Race 3 team have completed almost 90 percent of the shooting. They returned to Mumbai on Wednesday (April 4) to shoot for the last leg after wrapping up their Abu Dhabi schedule.

Salman Khan convicted
Salman Khan convicted in 1998 blackbuck poaching caseIANS

If the court grants him time, Salman may be able to complete the film's shoot and later surrender before the jail authorities.

In a similar situation, Sanjay Dutt, who was sentenced to five years in jail in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, had also moved an application asking for time to complete shooting his part for Rajkumar Hirani's PK which also stars Aamir Khan in the lead.

If the court dismisses his plea, the makers of Race 3 may opt to chop off a few scenes of Salman Khan from the movie's final cut.

His other big projects like Bharat, Dabangg 3, Kick 2, Loveratri and TV game show Dus Ka Dum may have to pay a heavy price. It now remains to be seen whether the court grants him bail. 

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