Salman Khan gets bail in blackbuck poaching case, to walk free today

Jodhpur: After spending two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, actor Salman Khan was granted bail by Jodhpur Court in 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Salman will have to furnish two personal bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each.

"He will have to submit two bonds of Rs 25,000 each, he cannot leave the nation without the court's permission and will have to appear here again in person on May 7," Mahipal Bishnoi, Lawyer of Bishnoi community said. Salman Khan is likely to be out of Jodhpur Central Jail by 7.30 pm. "The bail order must reach the jail authorities only after that will Salman Khan be released today. The bail bond takes about 20 minutes to fill out. The verification process takes about an hour after which he can be released. He could be released at about 7.30 pm," senior lawyer Bharat Bhusan Sharma told NDTV.

The bail plea was heard by Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who was among 87 sessions court judges who were transferred on Friday. It is customary for judges to be given seven days for the transition. On Thursday, a Jodhpur Court sentenced the 52-year-old actor to five years in jail for killing two endangered blackbucks in 1998 while shooting for the film, Hum Saath Saath Hain. The superstar known as 'bhai' among the film fraternity and fans was sent to Jodhpur Central Jail soon after his conviction on Thursday. Salman's co-stars and Bollywood actors - Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari - were acquitted by the court for the lack of evidence. The actor's lawyer had approached the court with his bail application of 51-pages on Friday, but the hearing was deferred off till today after the judge asked for the entire case records. Soon after bail was granted to Salman Khan, fans of the actor gathered outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrated the verdict.