Salman Khan: Pending cases

Salman Khan poaching case: Eyewitness is mentally unfit

According to reports, a witness' son has told a Jodhpur court that his father would not be able to testify against actor Salman Khan in the 1998 Blackbuck poaching case as he is mentally unfit. "His son appeared before the court on June 29, pleading that his father, Chogaram, is mentally unfit to give his statement so he should be dropped from the witness list," said Mahipal Bishnoi, a prosecution lawyer.

Read on to know why a petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking a probe into the circumstances leading to the death of a key eyewitness in the 2002 hit-and-run case...

A petition filed in the Bombay High Court seeks a probe into the circumstances leading to the death of a key eyewitness in the 2002 hit-and-run case in which Bollywood actor Salman Khan was convicted last month, as reported by PTI. The petition, filed by Pune-based activist Hemant Patil, said, "Legal action should be taken against the actor who had allegedly used pressure on eyewitness and actor's police bodyguard Ravindra Patil not to reveal the facts of the case during the trial. At the time of trial it was revealed that Salman Khan and other unknown persons used undue influence upon Ravindra Patil and attempts were made to prevent him from giving true and correct statements in respect of the case though they failed to turn him a hostile witness. Something wrong had occurred and Patil had died under suspicious circumstances." The petition alleged that because of fear in the mind about Salman and his associates, the witness failed to appear before the court which had issued non-bailable warrant against him.

Salman's tryst with the courtroom doesn't seems to end. Read on to find out as to why was Salman recently sued for Rs 250 crore...

Salman Khan's legal troubles don't seem to end. The actor has been sued for defamation by Vijay Galani, producer of the actor's 2010 dud, Veer. Galani has demanded compensation of Rs 250 crore. According to a report by Indiatoday.in, the two were involved in an altercation over the agreement chalked out by Salman Khan. Reportedly, the actor wanted a few changes in the agreement after the film's release but the producer wasn't ready to oblige. When Galani refused, Salman approached CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes Association), but the association ruled in the producer's favour. Later, Salman also approached Federation of Western India Cine Association (FWICE), which unilaterally issued a motion of non-cooperation against Galani who, in turn, approached the Producers' Guild headed by Mukesh Bhatt. Mukesh wrote to FWICE stating the non-cooperation decision was invalid since it was unilateral. The case has been doing the rounds in the media for years now, and Galani has now filed a defamation case for Rs 250 crore against Salman, alleging that the actor's attitude has caused a dent on his reputation as a producer.

Read on to find out why had a Jodhpur court had recently rejected Salman's plea for re-examination of witnesses...

In a setback of sorts for Salman Khan, a Jodhpur court has rejected his plea for re-examination of witnesses in a case related to illegal possession and use of arms. Salman Khan had filed an appeal for re-examination of five witnesses in the case registered against him under the Arms Act.

Salman has invited many legal troubles apart from the 2002 hit-and-run case. Let's take a look at some of his pending cases, including the Chinkara poaching case...

Chinkaras poaching case

As many as four cases are pending against Salman Khan in the Rajasthan court. Among the four, two cases under appeal are those where Salman was found guilty, in 2006, of hunting rare Chinkaras near Jodhpur while filming Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998. The actor was sentenced to one year in jail in the first case, as it was his first offence, but he later received a harsh five-year term in the second case, as the judge called him a “repeat offender”. However, Salman was out on bail in these cases as his appeal has been pending before the Rajasthan High Court.

Black buck case

Apart from hunting rare Chinkaras, Salman is accused of killing an endangered species of black bucks during the same period in 1998. Again, the actor was shooting for his movie, Hum Saath Saath Hain, and his co-stars Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Satish have also been charged in this case. However, the hearing is pending as the court will take a decision only after the case of possession of arms is resolved.

Illegal arms case

One among the two pending cases of Salman Khan, in Jodhpur, is possession and use of a weapon with an expired licence. However, the trial for arms possession is not over yet. In the case where Salman has been booked for carrying arms with an expired licence, if found guilty, the actor could be sentenced up to seven years in jail, while the maximum sentence for shooting a black buck in India is three years behind bars. Though the actor had served jail term twice in 1998 itself after the killing, and again in 2007, but in 2013, fresh charges were made against the arms possession and the arms being illegal.

Ravindra Dwivedi assault case

In another brush against the law, a magistrate in Mumbai had directed the airport police to register an FIR against Salman Khan for criminal intimidation and robbery. The court's directive came on a complaint filed by Ravindra Dwivedi, who is a member of Bhrashtachaar Nirmoolan Samiti, who had alleged that the actor and his bodyguard had assaulted him aboard a Mumbai-Delhi flight on November 4. An airport police officer said that Dwivedi was carrying documents regarding the death of a BJP leader when they were allegedly snatched from him by Salman and his bodyguard during the fight in the flight.