Salman Khan acquitted of all charges in poaching cases. [ Salman Khan v. State of Rajasthan; decided on 25 July,2016]

The famous bollywood actor Salman Khan has been acquitted by the Rajasthan High Court in the 1998 chinkara poaching case. In February 2006, Salman Khan was convicted under the Wild Life Act for poaching a Chinkara at Bhawad near Jodhpur during the shooting of film Hum Saath Saath Hain in September 1998.  Blackbuck is a protected animal and hunting and poaching them is a punishable offence under the law. Salman Khan was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and was slapped a fine of Rs 5,000. In 2007, Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in prison by the Rajasthan High Court for hunting a blackbuck during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain .  Back then he spent six days in Jodhpur Central Jail before his sentence was suspended. Later, the High Court dropped charges under Arms Act against him on his appeal. One of the animals was killed at Bhawad on the outskirts of Jodhpur on September 26, 1998, and the other at Ghoda Farms on September 28, 1998. In December 2012, the High Court had revised the charges against the actor. In the fresh charges, Salman Khan was charged with Section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act.