CJM court reads out charges against film stars

The court of chief judicial magistrate, Jodhpur, Saturday read out charges against four Bollywood stars - Tabu Hashmi, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Saif Ali Khan - in the 14-year-old case of blackbuck poaching while shooting for a film.

The charges relate to an incident that occurred during the shooting of Rajshri Productions' "Hum Saath Saathj Hain" in 1998.

The chief judicial magistrate C.K. Jain read out charges one by one against all of the film starts, except Salman Khan, also an accused in the case, who had sought exemption from the court on the ground that he had to be out of the country for medical treatment.

"Salman Khan was not present in the court today (Saturday) as he in not in the country and has gone overseas for treatment," Hastimal Saraswat, Salman Khan's counsel, said.

The charges have been framed under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 relating to hunting and inciting to poach blackbucks.

If found guilty, the actors face imprisonment of up to six years.

These actors, however, denied all the charges. The court has fixed April 27 as next date of hearing.

The case was filed against these actors for poaching of blackbucks in 1998 in Kankni village near Jodhpur.

The blackbuck is a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act.