Caught in the middle
Salman Khan ordered to appear in court, once again
Salman has been busy shooting for Sultan, which also stars Anushka Sharma. PHOTO: FILE
JODHPUR:
Salman Khan’s popularity and box office collections may be soaring these days but, unfortunately, so are his legal troubles. This time, the local court in Jodhpur has ordered the Bollywood superstar come in on March 10, to record his statement in a case related to the Arms Act.
“Prosecution evidences have finished,” Salman’s counsel Hastimal Saraswat told IANS. “The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Jodhpur district has set March 10 as the date for recording of statement of the accused [Salman Khan].” Salman and his Hum Saath Saath Hain co-stars, including Saif Ali Khan, were accused of poaching black bucks on the night of October 1 and 2 back in 1998, during the shooting of the movie. Two black bucks, an animal protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed on the outskirts of Kankani village near Jodhpur. Salman is accused of carrying and using illegal arms. He also allegedly carried arms with an expired licence.
The CJM Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit — while dismissing an application from Salman’s counsel for re-examination of the then collector Rajat Mishra — said the examination of prosecution witnesses has been completed. He then ordered Salman to remain present before the court on March 10 to record the “accused’s statement.”
Interestingly, this is the third time Salman is being asked to clarify his statement during this case. The court was to pronounce its judgement on February 25 last year but deferred when a few applications for examination of four witnesses was allowed. After this, Salman appeared before the court on April 29.
On Thursday, after completing the re-examination, Salman’s advocate again moved an application to examine witness Rajat Mishra. But the request did not fall through and ordered Salman to remain present before the court to record his statement on March 10. The 50-year-old actor will reportedly have to halt shooting for his upcoming film Sultan in order to be present in court.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2016.
Salman Khan’s popularity and box office collections may be soaring these days but, unfortunately, so are his legal troubles. This time, the local court in Jodhpur has ordered the Bollywood superstar come in on March 10, to record his statement in a case related to the Arms Act.
“Prosecution evidences have finished,” Salman’s counsel Hastimal Saraswat told IANS. “The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Jodhpur district has set March 10 as the date for recording of statement of the accused [Salman Khan].” Salman and his Hum Saath Saath Hain co-stars, including Saif Ali Khan, were accused of poaching black bucks on the night of October 1 and 2 back in 1998, during the shooting of the movie. Two black bucks, an animal protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed on the outskirts of Kankani village near Jodhpur. Salman is accused of carrying and using illegal arms. He also allegedly carried arms with an expired licence.
The CJM Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit — while dismissing an application from Salman’s counsel for re-examination of the then collector Rajat Mishra — said the examination of prosecution witnesses has been completed. He then ordered Salman to remain present before the court on March 10 to record the “accused’s statement.”
Interestingly, this is the third time Salman is being asked to clarify his statement during this case. The court was to pronounce its judgement on February 25 last year but deferred when a few applications for examination of four witnesses was allowed. After this, Salman appeared before the court on April 29.
On Thursday, after completing the re-examination, Salman’s advocate again moved an application to examine witness Rajat Mishra. But the request did not fall through and ordered Salman to remain present before the court to record his statement on March 10. The 50-year-old actor will reportedly have to halt shooting for his upcoming film Sultan in order to be present in court.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2016.