I am not any corrupt public servant and neither is my offence against public interest, actor Salman Khan has told the Supreme Court in an affidavit to justify the stay of conviction granted by Rajasthan High Court in the black buck killing case.
Khan even told the court that the other criminal cases against him should not affect the decision of the Court as they were pending trial and must be judged independent of the black buck case. The affidavit came in response to an appeal by Rajasthan Government challenging the HC order passed on November 12, 2013.
With the State Government taking a position that Khan was favoured by the HC for being a celebrity, the apex court had asked the actor to file a response. The affidavit by the ‘Dabangg’ star stated, “The HC has stated that I am not a public servant and neither am I involved in any corruption charges and have always abided by the conditions imposed upon me by the various courts.”
Khan, through his lawyer Arjun Harkauli, said, “It is denied that the HC failed to apply the principle that everyone is equal before law and granted me special privileges because I am a celebrity.”
The actor told the Court that his case was “exceptional” as the HC stayed his conviction looking into his professional engagements as an actor that required him to travel overseas frequently. An incident occurred on July 29, 2013 when the UK Border Agency did not permit Khan to enter Britain citing his five-year sentence and conviction in the black buck case as a disqualification for grant of visa.
“The HC has appreciated the fact that the order of conviction had started hampering my professional engagements and my ability to earn a livelihood and would cause irreparable damage to me as well as to all the present and prospective employers, who have or will engage my professional services as an actor,” Khan said.
He added that faced with this disqualification, “staying the order of conviction had become necessary, since the consequential effect of the subsisting order of conviction would be an indirect restrain on my constitutional right (to carry out any profession) under Article 19(1)(g).”
On September 5, when the SC turned down Khan’s request for interim relief, it said, “law must apply equally to everyone. There should be no discrimination vis-à-vis convicts.” The actor, on the contrary, asked SC to consider his case on a different footing than rest convicts who were denied similar relief in the past.
In most cases where conviction was not stayed dealt with “matters relating to corruption by the public servants or serious offences which are against public interest.” Such orders are aimed to protect the Republic and promote efficacy and functioning of public offices, which are not considerations attracted in his case, the actor said.