Click to play videoNew Delhi: A Sessions Court in Jodhpur on Friday upheld the five-year jail term for actor Salman Khan in the Chinkara poaching case, turning down the actor’s appeal against his sentencing last year.
The actor failed to appear for the hearing, saying he missed the flight to Jodhpur from Hyderabad where he is currently shooting.
However, Salman's sister Alvira Khan was present in court. The actor will now be arrested unless he surrenders before the court himself.
Inside the courtroom, the defence raised an objection that the court cannot pronounce the verdict if the accused is not present.
However, the judge cited provisions of CrPC under which it is allowed.
“The honorable court has turned down Salman Khan’s appeal and has upheld the earlier order. His co-accused Govardan Singh has been considered and he has been acquitted. Since the court did not direct Salman to be present in court, there was no need for him to be there. A revision can be filed and it’s his right to exercise all options available to him. Salman respects the court order,” said Salman’s lawyer Dipesh Mehta.
Importantly, the Jodhpur Sessions Court is not empowered to hear his bail plea so the actor will have to be in jail till his lawyers appeal in a higher court.
“Salman knew very well that his appeal would be turned down. Which is why he did not come to court. The judge said his presence or absence did not matter since it was judgement time. Now, Salman Khan will be arrested wherever he is or he could come and surrender himself,” said the lawyer of Bishnoi community Mahipal Bishnoi.
Bishnoi also thanked the media and locals for their support in the case and said the actor has no option but to surrender before the court.
"There is no question of any option now. Had he been present in court, he would have been taken into custody right away. But now, wherever he his, he will be arrested," he said.
Salman is currently shooting in Hyderabad for a Telugu film. His lawyers say they will appeal in the High Court against the verdict.
Flashback: The case
The actor had spent three days in the Jodhpur Central Jail after he was sentenced for shooting a Chinkara in 1998 while shooting for the film Hum Saath Saath Hain.
He was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and slapped with a fine of Rs 25,000.
Khan has also been sentenced to one-year imprisonment in another poaching case of Bhawad and has filed an appeal against it.
But the hearing has not started as the record is pending with the Rajasthan High Court where the state government filed a plea for enhancement of the sentence.
Earlier, Salman's lawyers told CNN-IBN their case was strong.
“The court has initiated proceedings against the key eyewitness Gypsy driver Harish Dulani in this case, he went absconding right after giving his testimony. How can Salman be sentenced on the basis of the testimony of an absconder?” said the actor’s lawyer Hastimal Saraswat.
Salman's lawyers also said the forensic evidence found on the actor's car was inconclusive, and the case - registered under the Wildlife Protection Act - was filed by the police and not the forest department officials.
But the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan - that played a major role in the Salman's conviction - says the arguments aren't new.
“The strong evidence we presented before the court including the forensic report are solid. There are all possibilities that the court will reject Salman's appeal against his sentence,” said Bishnoi.
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