Salman case hearing put off by a day

Jodhpur, Aug 30: A Rajasthan High Court bench today deferred by a day the hearing in actor Salman Khan's revision and bail plea against his jail sentence.

Justice H R Panwar have summoned the records of the infamous chinkara poaching case from the lower court and postponed the hearing to tomorrow.

Local lawyers here usually strike on the last working day of every month in protest against their demand for unifying the Rajasthan High Court. Tomorrow is the last working day of the month but as Delhi's advocate Udai Lalit and Mumbai lawyer Dipesh Mehta are present with Salman, the case is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.

Salman will now have to spend another night in Jodhpur Central Jail in barrack no 1.

Salman had to go to jail after the District and Sessions Court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against the actor on August 24.

The District and Sesions Court Judge Kamal Raj Singhvi had upheld the lower court's verdict of April 10, 2006 sentencing him to five years rigorous imprisonment for poaching chinkara.

The judge had also rejected Salman's appeal for 10 days time to surrender. He is convicted of poaching a chinkara, a species of protected antelope, in Ghoda Farm under Mathania police station on Sep 28-29,1998, while he was camping here for the shooting of the Sooraj Barjatya's blockbuster Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Salman's other appeal against one year imprisonment for poaching two black bucks in Bhavad village on September 26-27,1998, is still pending and will come up for hearing on September 10.

UNI