A Rajasthan High Court judge has recused from hearing the 1998 blackbuck poaching case appeals involving Salman Khan. The matter will now be placed before the Chief Justice to assign it to another bench for fresh hearing.
The hearing in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan could not take place in the Rajasthan High Court on Monday after Justice Baljinder Singh Sandhu recused himself from the matter.
The judge declined to hear the appeals and directed that the case file be placed before another bench. Now, the Chief Justice of the High Court will decide which bench will take up the case next.
Advocate Mahipal Bishnoi informed that the appeals filed by the state government against Khan, along with Khan’s transfer petition seeking a joint hearing of his appeal and the state’s appeal, were listed before Justice Sandhu. However, the judge stepped aside from hearing the matter for personal reasons. As explained, he had earlier been consulted in connection with the case.
Bishnoi said the matter will now be placed before the Chief Justice for further orders regarding listing before another bench. He also added that earlier, Justice Farjand Ali had recused himself from hearing the case.
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Earlier, Khan’s counsel had filed a transfer petition requesting that his appeal against conviction be heard together with the appeal filed by the state government. Justice Manoj Kumar Garg had directed that the procedural formalities be completed so that both matters could be listed for a joint hearing.
The case goes back to October 1998. Khan was accused of hunting blackbucks near Kankani village on the outskirts of Jodhpur while shooting for a film. In 2018, a trial court convicted him and sentenced him to five years in jail. Later, he was granted bail and challenged the conviction before a higher court.
The trial court had acquitted the co-accused actors — Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre — by giving them the benefit of doubt. In a separate case related to alleged possession of a weapon after the expiry of its licence, Khan was also acquitted.
With the latest recusal, the long-pending matter will now await fresh listing before a new bench, as decided by the Chief Justice.
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