Timeline: How it took 20 years to convict Salman Khan in the blackbuck poaching case

Superstar Salman Khan has (finally) been convicted of poaching two blackbucks back in 1998. A Jodhpur trial court sentenced the actor to five years in jail and a fine of Rs 10,000. However, all the co-accused -- Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu -- have been acquitted.

The actors were shooting of the movie Hum Saath Saath Hain in Kankani village near Jodhpur. Witnesses from the unwavering Bishnoi community saw the actor shoot the protected species of the rare antelope on the intervening night of 1st and 2nd October, 1998. They even jotted down the number plate of the jeep they were on. Later a case was filed by the Bishnoi community who worship the animal. (This is the same community that was the inspiration behind the Chipko movement.) The main witness, Poonamchand Bishnoi, said he saw the actor shoot the blackbuck while his co-stars egged him on. However, Salman claims the animal died of ‘natural causes’ and that he is being ‘framed’.

This is not the only case of poaching against the actor. He has also been accused of killing a couple of chinkaras (a gazelle species) and a blackbuck in September of 1998 by the very same community.

Here’s a timeline of accusations and acquittals.


26 September 1998: Mr Khan is accused of shooting two chinkaras at Bhawad village near Jodhpur.

28 September 1998: Salman Khan allegedly hunted two more chinkara near Ghoda Farm area in Osian region of Jodhpur.

2 October 1998: A police complaint was lodged against the five actors -- Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu -- by the Bishnoi community.

12 October 1998: Salman Khan is arrested, only to be granted bail and released 5 days later.

17 February 2006: Salman Khan is convicted by a trail court under the Wildlife Act and sentenced to one year in jail for poaching a chinkara at Bhavad village in September 1998. This is overturned after an appeal.

10 April 2006: A trial court convicted Salman Khan in the blackbuck case under the Wildlife Protection Act and sentenced him to five years in jail, alongside a fine of Rs 25,000. However, he spent less than a week in jail before getting bail.

24 August 2007: The Session Court upheld the conviction doled out in April 2006 and dismissed Salman Khan’s appeal.

31 August 2007: The Rajasthan High Court sentences the actor to five years in prison and then suspends the same on appeal after a week - the actor spent a week in jail. He was, however, ordered to not leave the country without permission. The High Court later dropped the charges levied against the actor under the Arms Act.

December 2012: The Rajasthan High Court revised the charges against the actor and levied fresh charges against him under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act - hunting or poaching of the protected blackbuck species is a punishable offence under the law.

12 November 2013: The Rajasthan High Court suspends the five-year sentence given in April 2006.

25 July 2016: The Rajasthan High Court acquits Salman Khan in the 1998 chinkara and blackbuck poaching case, claiming lack of evidence that the animals were shot by the actor’s licensed gun.

11 November 2016: The Rajasthan Government’s plea challenging his acquittal in the blackbuck poaching case and to fast-track the case is approved by the Supreme Court. Salman Khan is issued a notice.

18 January 2017: A Jodhpur court acquits Khan in the Arms Act Case wherein he was charged with possessing weapons with an expired licence while hunting the animals.

28 March 2018: Final arguments of the case were completed in the trial court.

April 5, 2018: A Jodhpur court convicts Khan to serve a 5-year jail term and pay Rs 10,000 penalty.

In the meanwhile, Khan has made myriad movies while the various trials were on, becoming one of the biggest celebrities in the country. According to Forbes, Khan’s net pre-tax earnings in 2017 amount to $37 million, earning him a spot on the publication’s 2017 Celebrity 100 List of World’s Highest Earning Entertainers.