Verdict In Arms Act Case Against Actor Salman Khan Expected Today

Jodhpur: A court in Jodhpur is expected to announce today its verdict against Salman Khan in a case under the Arms Act, which was filed against the actor for allegedly keeping and using fire arms with expired licence in the poaching of blackbucks in Kankani near Jodhpur in October 1998. This is one of the four cases against Mr Khan. He and his sister who arrived in the city yesterday evening will be appearing in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate today.

While the Rajasthan High Court has acquitted him in two cases of poaching of chinkara, trial in the third case of alleged poaching of two blackbucks is still going on.

Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit had reserved the judgement for January 18 after arguments by both the sides in the case were completed on January 9.

Mr Khan, who had earlier appeared in the court on March 10 last year for recording of his statements, had pleaded innocence and stated that he had been framed in the case by the forest department.

"We had argued in the court that there was no evidence that Khan was carrying fire arms either during his stay here or during alleged poaching. What he was found in possession with, were actually the air guns," his counsel HM Saraswat said.

The defence also raised questions on the prosecution permission arguing that it was given by the then district magistrate Rajat Kumar Mishra and was not lawful.

Prosecution counsel BS Bhati, replying to the arguments, said that the prosecution permission was based on the facts and evidences furnished by the police in its investigation.

The case had reached the stage of judgement earlier on February 25, 2014 but sudden appearance of an undecided prosecution application before the trial court, moved by the then prosecution counsel in 2006 put off the verdict for two flat years.