Salman given benefit of doubt

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan (51) arrived late in the Jodhpur court by more than an hour to hear the judgement in a 19-year-old Arms Act case against him, but walked out a free man within seven minutes. Dressed in a crisp white shirt, Mr Khan came to the Jodhpur court with his sister Alvira. They both looked tense while entering the court but came out smiling.

Mr Khan was given the benefit of doubt by the Jodhpur court, which held him “not guilty” because the prosecution had failed to produce adequate evidence and witnesses to prove its case.

Mr Khan was accused of possessing and using arms 0.22 rifle and a 0.32 revolver, with an expired license. He was also accused of killing two blackbucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur on October 1-2, 1998.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit took only two minutes to deliver the verdict once the actor arrived. The CJM asked Mr Khan his name and said that he (Khan) had two charges against him under section 2/25 and section 27 of the Arms Act and you are acquitted in both of them. In the 102-page order, the judge also said that the two post-mortem reports on the deer listed different causes of death – dog bite and gunshot wound. “The court admitted our arguments that Khan was framed in this case. There was no concrete evidence against him,” Mr Saraswat, lawyer for Salman Khan said. An eyewitness for the prosecution never showed up.

However, prosecution lawyer B.S. Bhati said that after studying the judgement, the decision would be challenged.

The local Bishnoi community too had hinted at filing appeal against the court’s decision given on Wednesday.