MAIL ONLINE INDIA
10 July, 2014

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to Bollywood actor Salman Khan in response to the Rajasthan government's plea challenging a high court decision that had stayed his conviction in a black buck hunting case.

A bench headed by Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya asked Khan, who was sentenced to a five-year jail term by a trial court in the case, to file his response within four weeks.

The state government approached the apex court to challenge the ruling of the Rajasthan High Court, which had on November 12 last year stayed Khan's 2006 conviction and enabled him to apply for a British visa.

The passports of Indian convicts are stamped with the word "convict". Under British immigration rules, any person convicted for more than four years is not eligible for a visa.

Since the actor was convicted for five years, he was denied a visa by the British Embassy.

The black buck is a protected animal and hunting it is a punishable offence. Khan was convicted and given separate one-year and five-year prison terms in cases related to the poaching of two Chinkaras at Bhawad and a black buck at Ghoda Farm on the intervening night of September 26-27, 1998 and September 28-29, 1998 respectively.

read more