SC j'ment tomorrow on black buck hunting case involving Salman

Supreme Court is likely to pronounce tomorrow its judgement on a Rajasthan government's appeal against a High Court order staying conviction of Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the black buck hunting case in which he was awarded five-year jail term by a trial court.

A Bench comprising Justices S J Mukhopadhyay and A K Goel had on November 5 last year reserved is judgement after raising question on the Rajasthan High Court decision staying the mega star's conviction without going into the merits of the case and just to pave the way for him to get the visa to travel to the United Kingdom for professional purposes.

Salman had submitted that he would have faced hardship if his conviction would not have been stayed by the high court as it adversely affected his right to travel abroad.

The state government had approached the apex court against the High Court order which had, on November 12, 2013 stayed his 2006 conviction in the case and paved the way for him to get a British visa.

During the hearing, the court, however, had agreed that age was one of the important factors in life of an actor and it would be harsh if one is not allowed to go abroad till final verdict comes.

Under British immigration rules, any person convicted for more than four years is not eligible for a visa. Since the actor was convicted for five years, he was denied visa by the British Embassy.

The passports of Indian convicts are stamped with the word "convict." Black buck is a protected animal and its hunting is a punishable offence.