Blackbuck case: Salman apologises for ‘mistakenly’ submitting false affidavit

Actor Salman Khan, on Tuesday, apologised for ‘mistakenly’ submitting a false affidavit in the Jodhpur session court in 2003, during his hearing in a case related to the poaching of two blackbucks in Jodhpur in 1998. The final verdict in the case will be pronounced on Thursday.

A trial court in 2018 had convicted Salman and awarded five-year imprisonment to him for the killing of two black bucks during the shooting of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain in October 1998. His co-actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre were acquitted.

Salman appeared before the Jodhpur session court for the hearing of his appeal against the conviction through video conferencing, the Times of India stated in a report. During the hearing, his lawyer Hastimal Saraswat said, “The affidavit was mistakenly given on August 8, 2003, as Salman had forgotten that his licence was given for renewal because he was too busy. Therefore, he mentioned that the licence had gone missing in the court.”

Salman was arrested in 1998 for hunting two blackbucks near Jodhpur. A case under Arms Act was registered against him and the court had asked him to submit his arms licence.

The actor, however, gave an affidavit in the court in 2003, saying that he had lost the licence. He also lodged an FIR at the Bandra police station in Mumbai in this connection. However, the court later came to know that his licence had been submitted for renewal.