The Rajasthan High Court in the 1998 Kankani blackbuck poaching case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan has witnessed a significant development. Justice Baljinder Singh Sandhu, who was presiding over the appeals, recused himself from further hearing. As a result, a newly constituted bench will now handle the proceedings.
Initially, the High Court was set to hear Salman Khan’s criminal appeal against his 2018 conviction and five-year sentence, alongside the Rajasthan government’s appeal against the acquittal of the co-accused. Justice Manoj Kumar Garg had ordered both matters to be heard together for simultaneous adjudication.
However, due to procedural changes and the recent recusal, a different bench will now continue the hearing once the case is formally reassigned and relisted. The case, stemming from the 1998 incident during a film shoot near Kankani village, involves allegations of hunting protected blackbucks.
Salman Khan was convicted in 2018 by the Jodhpur court but later granted bail, challenging the conviction in the Rajasthan High Court. The court had also acquitted other co-accused due to insufficient evidence, prompting the Rajasthan government to seek permission to challenge their acquittal.
With Justice Sandhu stepping aside, the case is awaiting allocation to a new bench for further proceedings. This development marks another chapter in one of Rajasthan’s long-standing high-profile criminal cases, now under the scrutiny of a fresh bench in the Rajasthan High Court.
