COVID Risk: Salman Khan Exempted From Court Appearance In Blackbuck Poaching Case

Jodhpur: Actor Salman Khan has been exempted from appearing in a Jaipur court in connection with the  October 1998 blackbuck poaching case. His counsel appealed that he be excused due to the spike of coronavirus cases, ZeeNews reported. The matter is now listed for appearance and hearing on January 16.

Khan’s counsel cited the ‘rising’ number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai and Jodhpur and said that traveling for the hearing could be risky for the actor.

The court led by Additional District and Sessions Judge Brajesh Panwar fixed January 16, 2021, for the next hearing in the case against his five-year sentence court order, the report said.

“We prayed to the court that traveling to Jodhpur from Mumbai and appearing in the court when the cases of COVID infection have been rising in both Jodhpur and Mumbai could be risky for him,” said Khan’s counsel H M Saraswat told PTI.

Before the coronavirus lockdown in March, the court had directed Khan to appear for the hearing. Khan has sought exemption from appearance since the lockdown citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the report added.

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