A court in Jodhpur yesterday acquitted Bollywood superstar Salman Khan of killing protected wildlife 18 years ago, ending the latest long-running case against the actor.
Khan was convicted in 2006 of hunting rare black bucks while he was shooting the film Hum Saath Saath Hain in Rajasthan eight years earlier.
He was sentenced to one and five years in jail for two separate cases of shooting the animals, but the actor has filed appeals that have kept him from serving the stints.
Khan spent a few days in jail in April 2006 and August 2007 but was released on bail after the Rajasthan High Court suspended both sentences and heard both cases.
Yesterday High Court judge Nirmaljit Kaur cleared the actor in both cases, ruling that the pellets recovered from the animals were not fired from Khan’s gun.
“The honourable high court has not agreed to the prosecution evidence or its documents in both the cases. Definitely, it’s a good thing that an innocent man has received justice,” Khan’s lawyer Hastimal Saraswat told NDTV.
The 50-year-old bachelor was not in court to hear the judgement but his sister Alvira was.
The case was filed by Rajasthan’s Bishnoi community, a Hindu group that regards wildlife as sacred.
Courts in India are often known to take several years - and sometimes decades - to pronounce verdicts because of a lack of resources and too much paperwork.
The actor, known for playing a tough guy in Hindi films, is one of the Indian movie industry’s biggest draws and has starred in more than 100 films and television shows.
But he is no stranger to controversy and was last year cleared in another long-running case of killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run crash.
More recently, Khan sparked outrage in June by saying that his heavy training schedule for his new blockbuster movie Sultan left him feeling “like a raped woman.”
Meanwhile Khan’s adopted sister Arpita Khan hailed the verdict.
She has thanked his fans and well-wishers for standing by the family during the tough period.
“Thank you god for always showering us with your grace and blessings. Today is a big day for us. Thank you to all bhais and the family’s well-wishers for your prayers, support, love and best wishes. This wouldn’t have been possible without you,” Arpita posted on her Twitter page.
However, no official comment has been released from the actor’s side.
Actor Varun Dhawan, who had refused to make a public comment on Khan’s “raped woman” analogy, said the court’s verdict must be respected.
“I think the law has to take its course. It’s the court’s judgement and we have to respect it. So I respect the court’s judgement,” Dhawan said at the press conference in New Delhi.
Dhawan shares a friendly bond with Khan who has worked several times with his father and director David Dhawan.
Filmmaker Subhash Ghai tweeted: “Acquittal (of) Salman Khan is (a) story of bad times (and) good times. I fully believe in our judiciary with many doors open to knock for fair justice.”
However another filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma expressed displeasure over the time it took for the verdict.
“Only celebrity cases make us realise how dead slow judiciary works. It’s scary, it took 20 years for court to decide Salman Khan is not guilty,” he tweeted.
Ashoke Pandit, also a filmmaker, congratulated Khan and his father and veteran lyricist Salim Khan.
Actress Shweta Rohira posted: “My happiness and relief knows no bounds today! Goodness wins! Love you bhai.”
However, the news didn’t go down well with some.
A post on an unverified page of actress Renuka Shahane on Facebook censured the judgment raising questions like “Who killed the black buck and the chinkaras? Did the driver kill them? Did nobody kill them? Do judges decide according to Buckworth-Lewis method? Who will pay for the mental torture that Salman has had to go through now that he has been declared not guilty? Doesn’t the nation want to know the truth?”
Salman Khan’s sister Alvira leaves the Rajasthan High Court after the judge acquitted the actor in Jodhpur yesterday.
