On Wednesday, Salman Khan was acquitted in the Arms Act case of 1998.
This, of course, wasn’t Khan’s first brush with the law.
In the past he had been charged with hit-and-run, and killing of Chinkaras and black bucks while on a hunting trip with co-actors during a film shooting in 1998.
Here’s a recap of the cases against the star behind the ‘Being Human’ initiative.
1) Arms Act case, 1998
In October 1998, the police filed a case against Salman under sections 325 and 327 of the Arms Act for allegedly possessing and using a 0.22 rifle and a 0.32 revolver to kill two black bucks in Kankani village in Jodhpur on October 1 and 2.
The actor was in Jodhpur for the shooting of the Hindi film Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Other Bollywood actors, including Saif Ali Khan and Sonali Bendre, are also accused of poaching black bucks with Salman.
He was acquitted of the charge, 17 years later, on January 18, 2017.
2) Black buck and chinkara poaching cases, 1998
He had been charged with allegedly killing two endangered chinkaras and two black bucks on hunts during a location shoot along with Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu, in three different cases — one involving black bucks, and two involving chinkaras.
Last year the actor had earlier been acquitted by the Rajasthan high court in the two cases related to the killing of the chinkaras. That verdict has been challenged by the state government and the apex court has asked for the matter to be expedited.
Another case involving the alleged poaching of two black bucks is still being heard. The actor was convicted in the case but the high court suspended his sentence. in 2013 the high court stayed his conviction, to enable him to get a UK visa, and the Supreme Court subsequently set aside the stay. The actor, along with co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre will now appear before the chief judicial magistrate, Jodhpur, on January 25 to record their statements afresh under the Wildlife Protection Act.
In all, in the three poaching cases against him, Salman Khan has been to jail twice — in April 2006 and August 2007.
3) Hit-and-run case, 2002
In December 2015, the Bombay high court acquitted Salman of all criminal charges in a hit-and-run case, just months after he had been found guilty by a trial court.
The lower court had found him guilty of killing a homeless man while driving his SUV during a night out drinking in September 2002.
Source: Rediff