A court in Jodhpur Wednesday deferred its verdict in a case relating to illegal possession and use of arms by Bollywood actor Salman Khan and posted the matter for March 3.
It had been due to pronounce its judgement over charges against Bollywood actor Salman Khan relating to possession and use of illegal arms.
In a subsequent development after the last hearing, four applications for summoning the witnesses and taking some documents came to the notice of the court, reported Times of India. “We were ordered to present our arguments and the court would deliver its judgment thereafter,” public prosecutor N.K. Sankhla and Khan’s advocate Hastimal Sarswat jointly said.
Khan had been expected to appear in court for the judgment; however he was not even in Jodhpur on Wednesday. He is currently in Gondal near Rajkot, Gujarat for Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, reported PTI.
Producers of the actor’s two upcoming films likely breathed a small sigh of relief when the deferral came in: An estimated Rs 2 billion is riding on the 49-year-old actor.
His other film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, being directed by Ek Tha Tiger helmer Kabir Khan, has wrapped up shooting and is currently in post-production for a mid-year release.
Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahta said Khan has approximately Rs 1.5 billion riding on him for these two films alone, besides another Rs 500 million for the projects that he has signed.
“If you take Rs 75 crore each for these two films, it comes to a total of Rs 150 crore. And then if you add another Rs 50 crore for the projects that he has signed, it comes to Rs 200 crore. There is some amount of tension but the actor has the option to further appeal his case,” Nahta told PTI.
Khan and other Bollywood stars were accused of poaching blackbucks in October in 1998 during the shooting of Hindi movie Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Two blackbucks, a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed on the outskirts of Kankani village near Jodhpur.
The star was also accused of carrying and using illegal arms and carrying arms with an expired licence.
