HC alllows Salman to access prosecution sanction documents

The Rajasthan High Court today allowed the petition of Bollywood actor Salman Khan seeking documents pertaining to the prosecution sanction against him under Arms Act in a case which is an offshoot of the black buck poaching incident of 1998.
The court summoned the public prosecutor in the court today and ordered him to make the sought documents available to Khan's counsel.
"Justice Sandeep Mehta, while hearing the petition on Monday, had summoned the public prosecutor today, in pursuance of which he appeared in the court and the court ordered him to make the documents available to us," said Khan's counsel H M Saraswat.

Khan had moved a petition in the high court seeking permission to make the document pertaining to the prosecution sanction by the then district magistrate available to him.
A similar petition was earlier rejected by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (Jodhpur district) where the trial of the case was in progress.
"After the rejection, we have moved the high court," said Saraswat.

Meanwhile, the trial of the case under Arms Act in the court of CJM (Jodhpur district) could not progress because of the absence of the 4 witnesses including the then district magistrate (Jodhpur) Rajat Mishra, two police officers and a forest officer.

"The court has now listed the matter for hearing on November 23 and 24 for appearance of these 4 witnesses," said Public Prosecutor N K Sankhla.
The court had allowed Khan to summon 5 prosecution witnesses for the re-examination, of whom only one, the investigation officer and the then Asst. Superintendent of Police, Ashok Patni, had appeared on September 24.
A case had been registered againstSalmanKhanby the forest department on October 15, 1998 under ArmsActmentioning that thearmsused by Khanduring alleged poaching of two black bucks at village Kankani near Jodhpur on the intervening night of 1 -2 October, 1998, had their licences expired and hence he had been using thosearmsillegally.

Acting on this complaint, the Luni police had registered a case againstKhanunderArmsAct.