New Delhi:
Soon after Bollywood actor Salman Khan was pronounced guilty and convicted in the blackbuck poaching case, his lawyer, Anand Desai, said that he respected the decision given by the Jodhpur court, but preferred to file an appeal against the conviction.
The actor was convicted in the 1998 Blackbuck poaching case on Thursday by a Jodhpur Court, which sentenced him to five-years jail term and fined him with Rs 10,000. However, four other stars, co-accused in the case were acquitted. Actors Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan and Neelam Kothari were acquitted.
Desai gave a formal statement, in which he also mentioned that the co-accused in the case, actors Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan, Neelam Kothari, and one more person were buried in the case, which implied that Khan was alone on the night when the incident happened, which is not the truth.
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The lawyer pointed out that the facts in the case were similar to those two cases in which Khan had already been convicted by the Rajasthan High Court, along with being convicted by the Courts of Judicial Magistrate of First Class (CJM).
Desai added that they have already filed a bail appeal in the sessions court and the hearing will commence at 10:30 AM on Friday.
Desai’s statement read: “We respect the decision of the Hon'ble Court. While we are studying the judgement it just came as a surprise, as the entire investigation, and facts of this case were the same as those for which Salman has been acquitted by the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan in two cases, and even by the Hon'ble CJM in the Arms Act matter for the alleged offence on the very same night as is the subject matter of the present case. Also, in the present case the Hon'ble Court has acquitted all the 5 co-accused which would imply that Salman was out hunting alone in the middle of the night in a remote area outside Jodhpur. We have preferred an appeal to the Hon'ble Sessions Court and applied for an urgent hearing today. The Hon'ble Sessions Court will hear the appeal for suspension of the sentence / bail at 1030 tomorrow.”
The 1998 Blackbuck poaching case took place when Khan, along with the above-mentioned actors, was shooting for his film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. The 'Sultan' actor had killed two blackbucks at that time.
