Bollywood star Salman Khan faced some tough questioning in the Supreme Court on Friday over a decision of the Rajasthan High Court to stay his conviction in the 1998 black buck poaching case.
The ‘Dabangg’ star, who filed an affidavit in the apex court, claimed to be an ordinary citizen and one of the highest tax payers. Justifying the HC order of November 12, Khan said that the stay on conviction was essential for his professional trip to Britain, which did not grant visa to a convict sentenced for a crime punishable with more than four years. The trial court had sentenced him to five years prison term for poaching of a black buck and two Chinkaras.
Dealing with the Rajasthan Government’s appeal against the order, the bench of Justices SJ Mukhopadhaya and Prafulla C Pant said, “You may have good case for suspension of sentence but not for conviction.” Posting the matter for further hearing to October 28, the Bench added, “let law apply equally to everyone. There should be no discrimination vis-à-vis convicts.”
The remarks were made during the hearing of the petition filed by the Rajasthan Government challenging the stay granted by the High Court on his conviction in the case.
Khan in his affidavit had denied being granted any special privilege by the HC on account of being a celebrity. “The nature of my professional engagements is such that I frequently travel to various countries, where I am required to discharge my professional duties towards films, promotion of films, brand endorsements, promoting charitable causes,” he said.