JODHPUR, FEBRUARY 17: Bollywood actor Salman Khan was sentenced to an year in prison by a city court today after he was found guilty of poaching two chinkaras in the jungles of Jodhpur eight years ago.
The sentence was suspended for a month and Salman, who was present in the court when the sentence was pronounced by judge B K Jain, was immediately granted bail. His lawyers said they would appeal in the High Court within a month.
Six other accused, including actor Satish Shah, were acquitted for lack of evidence in the poaching, which occurred during the filming of Hum Saath Saath Hain in September 1998.
The court accepted Salman’s lawyers’ plea for minimum punishment. According to the provisions of Section 51 of the Wildlife Act (1998), under which he had been booked, the maximum punishment is of five years. Had the actor been sentenced to a term in excess of three years, he would have been immediately arrested and sent to jail.
Salman, however, has three more cases of poaching pending in various courts of Jodhpur.
