Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was on Wednesday acquitted by a Jodhpur court in an Arms Act case involving the killing of blackbucks. Even as the jubilant actor thanked his fans for support and some colleagues hailed the decision, Twitterati trolled him.
The court, in its 102-page order, did not find him accused under Sections 3/25 and 3/27 of the Arms Act. Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit announced the ruling after having completed the hearing on January 9.
"The prosecution could not prove any offence against Salman. It took a long time but ultimately the truth has won," Salman's lawyer Hastimal Saraswat told IANS.
Salman and his sister Alvira were present in the court -- the actor looking crisp in a blue t-shirt with the 'Being Human' tagline -- when the judge held he was not guilty of keeping an unlicensed weapon and using it during an alleged blackbuck hunt in 1998.
The verdict brought visible respite on Salman's face.
Police had a hard time controlling the actor's supporters in the court premises, many of whom carried the Salman's pictures. The actor even gave autographs to his fans later.
"Thank you for all the support and good wishes," Salman tweeted minutes later.
Salman and a few other Bollywood actors were accused of poaching blackbucks on the night of October 1, 1998 during the shooting of Hindi movie "Hum Saath Saath Hain" in Rajasthan.
Salman, son of veteran writer Salim Khan, has earlier been acquitted in two other cases related to the incident.
But Salman's acquittal didn't make everyone happy.
"Salman Khan teaches us that you can pass the buck when it comes to killing blackbucks if you have lots of bucks," wrote one user.
"Salman Khan, the 'Tees Maar Khan' of laws and court cases. Shame," posted another.
One more read: "There are millions who know that Salman Khan is guilty in both cases. Your voice has no value if it is against power and money. How sad!"
Hailing the court decision, actor Alok Nath, who played Salman's onscreen father in "Hum Saath Saath Hain", told IANS: "It is a happy ending to a long, stretched out case. He and his family must be really relieved."
He added: "Salman is a great guy... He has a brilliant career. Now, it is time for him to get married and have children."
Actor Ronit Roy said he was happy for Salman, actor Rahul Dev -- a former contestant of "Bigg Boss 10" which Salman hosts -- told IANS: "I have faith in the judicial system and an acquittal signifies he is innocent. It puts to rest any sense of doubt in the eyes of the public."
Mumbai-based eatery Bhaijaanz Restaurant, named after the "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" actor, announced a 50 per cent discount on its offerings on the receipt of the news from Jodhpur.
The actor's run-ins with the judiciary aren't new.
The Rajasthan High Court in July last year had acquitted Salman in another case, also related to the chinkara poaching.
Salman had moved the Jodhpur bench of the high court, challenging a lower court verdict handing him a one year and a five-year term in two separate cases of poaching. He was held guilty by the lower court and sentenced in 2006.
Salman and the Rajasthan government challenged the lower court verdict on different grounds.
In July 2016, the high court, while allowing Salman's appeal, acquitted him of all the charges and also dismissed the appeal filed by the state government to enhance the sentence.
The state government filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the actor's acquittal.
In 2015, Salman was also acquitted in a 2002 hit-and-run case by the Bombay High Court. His vehicle had run over a group of people sleeping on a pavement, killing one of them.
TRACING SALMAN KHAN'S ARMS ACT CASE: TIMELINE
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's acquittal on Wednesday in an Arms Act case, involving the alleged killing of blackbucks, allowed him relief in the case after over 18 years of litigation.
Allegations of poaching blackbucks were levelled against Salman in 1998 when he was in Jodhpur to shoot Hindi film "Hum Saath Saath Hain".
The FIR was registered at Luni police station under the Arms Act on 15.10.1998. However, it took two years in investigation and a charge sheet was filed in the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court on 28.07.2000. After lapse of six months, charges were framed against Salman Khan on 27.01.2001.
Thereafter, the trial in this case began in the CJM court on 12.03.2001. However, during the trail, several revision petitions were filed while challenging the charges framed against Salman and other co-actors. Therefore, the trial in the subordinate court was held up and it remained stalled for almost seven years.
After the decision of the revision petitions filed by the Rajasthan government and Salman Khan, the trial resumed in the CJM court on 25.05.2013 and Salman was summoned by the court, as accused, for recording statements on 29/01/14.
After completion of the trial, the CJM court reserved its verdict and the case got listed for the same on 25.02.2014, but before pronouncement, the prosecution pointed out a few old undecided applications in regard to prosecution witnesses. Therefore, the decision in the case got deferred and the court while granting the application, allowed four fresh witnesses to be examined.
After completion of their examination, Salman was re-summoned for accused statements on 10.03.2016. Thereafter, final arguments in the case began on 09.12.2016 which got completed on 09.01.2017. The court reserved its verdict again, which was then pronounced on Wednesday.
