2 min readJodhpurJan 27, 2017 04:03 PM IST
First published on: Jan 19, 2017 at 12:00 AM IST
Salman Khan arrives at Jodhpur civil Airport during the case in the 1998 Arms Act in Jodhpur on Tuesday (PTI Photo)
Giving him the benefit of doubt, a court in Jodhpur has acquitted actor Salman Khan in the 18-year-old Arms Act case. In the 102-page judgment, CJM Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit ruled that the prosecution failed to prove charges framed against the actor under sections 3/25 and 3/27 of the Indian Arms Act.
As soon as the verdict was announced, an emotional Salman hugged his sister Alvira, considered to be his ‘lucky charm’.
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Salman’s lawyer Hastimal Saraswat welcomed the verdict, so did a large number of his fans gathered outside the court since morning. “In the 102 page judgment, the court found that the prosecution had completely failed to prove the charges,” he said. “We have always said that the evidence, documents and the entire case was fabricated to frame Salman. What was (forest officer) Lalit Bora’s interest in this?” Saraswat asked.
Prosecution lawyer Bhawani Singh Bhati said the government will take a call about appealing against the judgment after analysing the order.
The Rajasthan government has already moved the Supreme Court via a special leave petition against Salman’s acquittal by the High Court last year in two cases under the Wildlife Protection Act for poaching Chinkaras.
Also Read: The timeline of the case
Salman landed in trouble with the law in 1998 while shooting for Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath Saath Hain (HSSH) in Jodhpur. The police, on a complaint from the forest department, booked the actor under relevant sections of the Arms Act—for possessing and using weapons with an expired license—and the Wildlife Act for allegedly poaching Chinkara gazelles at a farmhouse near Jodhpur.
The actor’s fateful date with the Sun City, however, is far from over. Salman, along with HSSH co-actors Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu, Neelam, is due to appear in a Jodhpur court next Wednesday for recording statements in another case related to poaching blackbucks.
Salman Khan arrives at Jodhpur civil Airport during the case in the 1998 Arms Act in Jodhpur on Tuesday (PTI Photo)
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