SC reserves order on plea against Salman Khan in black buck hunting case

“It is completely perverse and not based on evidence. Can conviction be suspended merely because you want a visa? If the same principle is applied then any convicted person can apply for services (jobs) after getting his conviction suspended,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Khan, said that the actor will face hardship if his conviction would not have been stayed by the high court as it adversely affects his right to travel abroad.

Responding to the submission, the bench referred to its recent verdict on disqualification of the lawmakers in the event of conviction and said, can the conviction of a politician be also stayed merely because he says that he will face hardship and get disqualified as an MP/MLA after conviction.

The bench said that the court and the government have allowed Salman to go abroad but if he is not given visa to travel to the UK for his conviction then he should approach the British authority.

“There is no restriction on you in this country. Court and government have allowed you to go abroad so your rights have been taken care of. So if you have any grievances then you can approach the UK court,” it said, adding that this court cannot issue a writ to the British authority to consider and grant the visa.

The state government had approached the apex court against the order of Rajasthan High Court which had, on November 12 last year, stayed his 2006 conviction in the case and paved the way for him to get a British visa. During the hearing, the court, however, agreed that age is one of the important factors in life of an actor and it would be harsh if one is not allowed to go abroad till final verdict comes.

Under British immigration rules, any person convicted for more than four years is not eligible for a visa. Since the actor was convicted for five years, he was denied visa by the British Embassy.

The passports of Indian convicts are stamped with the word “convict.”

Black buck is a protected animal and its hunting is a punishable offence.

Khan was convicted and sentenced to one-year and five-year prison terms in separate cases of poaching of two Chinkaras at Bhawad and one black buck at Ghoda Farm (Mathania) on the intervening night of September 26-27, 1998 and September 28-29, 1998 respectively.

The actor had approached the High Court in 2007 seeking a stay on his conviction by a trial court so that he could file a fresh application for a British visa.

Besides Khan, actors Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam were accused of poaching near Jodhpur during the shooting of the film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’.

Hit-and-run case: Salman was not drunk, witness tells court

A witness in the 2002 hit-and-run case involving superstar Salman Khan today said the actor was not smelling of liquor when he met him at his place a few hours after the mishap.

The prosecution’s case is that Salman’s car had rammed into a bakery in suburban Bandra killing one person and injuring four others who were sleeping outside on the pavement in the wee hours of September 28, 2002.

“I met Salman on the next day morning at 9 AM at his place (few hours after the mishap at around 3 AM) and hugged him, but he did not smell of alcohol,” Chiky Pandey, brother of actor Chunky Pandey, told the court of sessions Judge D W Deshpande.

During cross-examination, Pandey told Salman’s lawyer Srikant Shivade that the junction near the American Express Bakery (where the accident had taken place) was always busy with slow vehicular traffic movement.

Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat re-examined him on this point asking him whether there was heavy traffic at this junction all the 24 hours, to which the witness replied: “Not always.”

Significantly, the mishap had occurred in the wee hours when there is hardly any traffic on road.

Pandey told the prosecutor during examination-in-chief that he had helped Salman buy an imported car for Rs 14 lakhs from Abdul Rehman through a customs clearing agent. (This question was asked as it was the same car which had met with an accident on the ill-fated day).

Pandey further said that Salman had given two cheques of Rs 12 lakhs and Rs 2 lakhs to car owner Abdul Rehman. At the time of mishap, the vehicle was in the name of its owner and had not yet been transferred in Salman’s name, he said.

Another witness, Salim Patel, a customs clearing agent, who had helped the actor in getting the car cleared from the customs after it was imported from Dubai, explained to the court the import procedures.

Salman did not appear before the court today as he was busy with the wedding preparations of his sister Arpita.

The court asked him to appear on November 24 and 25 when other witnesses would be examined.

(With PTI Inputs)