Does The Buck Stop Here For Salman Khan?

The verdict in the infamous Black Buck case is finally here. Actor Salman Khan has been convicted in the same, while the others; Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam Kothari and Tabu have been acquitted by the court.

According to reports, the quantum of sentence will reportedly be announced later today. The maximum punishment under the sections of the Wildlife Protection Act could be around a six-year jail term.

Apart from the actors, travel agent Dushyant Singh and Dinesh Gawre were also accused in the case. However, Dinesh Gawre has been on the run! Dushyant Singh, a local from jodhpur allegedly identified the places and took the actors for hunting. The accused were charged with hunting and killing two blackbucks. The blackbucks are said to be an endangered species and are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. The village of Bishnois, a community which in Jodhpur is known for protecting the blackbuck and the blackbucks were killed near the same village.

Image Credit: wikimedia.org

The verdict for the 20-year-old case was pronounced by Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri. If Salman’s quantum of punishment is less than three years, the actor’s lawyers can approach the Jodhpur court to grant him bail on the same day. Salman’s lawyer is Hastimal Saraswat and the actor will apply for bail. If the bail comes through, Salman will return to Mumbai or else he might have to spend a night in Jodhpur Central Jail if the quantum of sentence is more than three years. Salman’s sisters Alvira and Arpita were by his side at the hearing.

According to reports, arguments for quantum of sentence is currently underway in the Jodhpur court. Salman’s counsel is arguing for early probation.

Salman has films coming up like Race 3 which is said to be a huge budget film with a massive budget of Rs 100 crore and is slated to release this Eid (15th July), then there is Dabangg 3 to be directed by Prabhu Deva too. The question is; What will happen to the Salman films that are under production if at all he is convicted?

Official statement by Salman Khan’s lawyers:

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