Jaipur: Actor Salman Khan once again skipped hearing in the black buck poaching case in a Jodhpur court on Saturday.
Khan was to appear in the Jodhpur district and sessions and court for hearing in two cases related to poaching of black bucks and one case in under the Arms Act.
The court allowed Khan exemption from personal appearance as his lawyer cited the ongoing Covid pandemic. Khan’s lawyer Hastimal Saraswat pleaded before the court that the actor resides in Mumbai and in view of the spread of coronavirus, it is risky for him to travel from Mumbai to Jodhpur. The advocated requested the court to grant exemption to Khan from personal appearance.
Accepting the lawyer’s plea, the court fixed February 6 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Khan was also absent at the last hearing on December 1, 2020, seeking exemption on the ground that he could not travel during the Covid pandemic.
This is the 17th time that Khan has skipped hearing in the case since it came before the sessions court in April 2018. During the coronavirus pandemic he sought exemption from personal appearance seven times.
In 2018, a trial court had convicted Khan and awarded five-year imprisonment to Khan for shooting and killing two black bucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur, during the shooting of his film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ in October 1998. Khan had challenged the trial court verdict in the sessions court.
Khan’s fellow actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonalii Bendre who were present on the spot on Kankani along with Khan were acquitted. After the conviction by the trial court, Khan had to spend three days in Jodhpur jail before getting bail. Khan has appealed against the trial court order in the sessions court.