The law has caught up with yet another celebrity ‘bad boy’. The Jodhpur district court has upheld the sentence awarded by a lower court to actor Salman Khan for killing a chinkara nine years ago. Khan will have to serve five years in prison.

The sentence awarded to Khan — as that awarded to actor Sanjay Dutt a month ago — sends out a powerful signal that in the eyes of the law, all Indians — whether celebrity or commoner — are equal.

There have been many instances where rich men and women violating the law have been acquitted or gotten away with very light sentences despite evidence calling for stern sentences. These instances have undermined the authority of the country’s courts in the eyes of the general public.

Khan’s sentencing will go some way in restoring the judiciary’s credibility. Some have argued that the sentence is far too harsh as Khan killed “only a deer”. The chinkara is no ordinary deer. It is an endangered species. Killing a chinkara is a very serious crime under Indian law.

Khan is implicated in another case of killing two chinkaras. He is also under trial for killing a person sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai while driving under the influence of alcohol in 2002.

Khan’s conviction is a landmark judgement for wildlife conservation in India. It is among the few wildlife crime cases that have ended in conviction of the accused. There are around 15,000 wildlife crimes involving over 400 endangered species pending in Indian courts.

Several laws have been enacted to protect wildlife but these appear to exist only on paper. Cases are rarely filed. When wealthy or well-connected get caught killing wildlife, they pull a few strings or bribe their way out of imprisonment. India’s wildlife is vanishing thanks to people like Khan. They deserve stern punishment.

Khan’s conviction in the chinkara case has been possible because the Jodhpur court refused to be dazzled by his star status but more importantly, because members of the Bishnoi community, which reveres the chinkara, were dogged in their pursuit of justice. Witnesses resisted pressure and refused to turn hostile.

The Bishnoi community’s protection of the chinkara should inspire others too to act with similar determination to protect wildlife.