Salman Khan Arms Act: Timeline of Events Leading to His Acquittal

A Jodhpur court on Wednesday acquitted actor Salman Khan in the 1998 Arms Act case.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit pronounced his verdict on the case against Khan for alleged illegal possession of weapons. He was accused of using arms with an expired licence.

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Here is a timeline of events that led up to the verdict:

• 15 October 1998: The forest department registered a case against Khan under Sections 3/25 and 3/27 of the Arms Act. They asserted that Khan used arms, whose license had expired, for alleged poaching on the night of 1 and 2 October 1998.
• 18 December 2014: Khan’s application to seek permission for summoning the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and District Magistrate (DM) of Mumbai as witnesses of the case was rejected by the court.
• 25 February 2015: Judgement in the case was deferred by the court on the grounds that four pending applications from the prosecution have come up
• 3 March 2015: After the prosecution representing the state brought up a nine-year-old plea to produce new evidence and fresh witnesses in the case, the Jodhpur court permitted that it be allowed.
• 23 April 2015: Chief Judicial Magistrate accepted an application moved by Khan’s counsel seeking exemption from his appearance in the court on the ground of ill health.
• 29 April 2015: Khan appeared in Jodhpur court to record his statement.
• 25 July 2016: Khan was acquitted by the Rajasthan High Court in two cases of deer poaching.
• 27 October 2015: Khan’s petition seeking documents pertaining to the prosecution sanction against him was allowed by the Rajasthan High Court.
• October 2016: Rajasthan government filed a Special Leave Petition against Khan’s acquittal.
• 11 November 2016: Khan gets a Supreme Court notice on Rajasthan's appeal over his acquittal in the Chinkara poaching case.
• 9 December 2016: Final arguments in the case begin.
• 18 January 2017: Khan acquitted by Jodhpur court.