JODHPUR, April 7 - Actor Salman Khan was today granted bail by a district and sessions court here in the 1998 black buck poaching case in which he has been sentenced to five years in jail.
District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi allowed Khan�s plea for bail and suspension of sentence so that he can file an appeal against his conviction and sentencing.
Khan, who had spent two nights in the Jodhpur Central Jail after his sentencing on Thursday, granted bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount, Defence counsel Mahesh Bora said, adding he is likely to be released this evening once the papers are ready and sent to jail authorities.
After completing all legal formalities, Salman Khan headed back to Mumbai in a chartered flight. The actor, however, cannot leave the country without the court�s permission.
This was Salman Khan�s fourth stint in prison. He has earlier spent a total of 18 days in jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007.
Earlier in the day, the judge heard the arguments of prosecution and defence which lasted for about an hour and pronounced the order at around 3 pm, a defence counsel said.
Khan�s sisters � Alvira and Arpita � were present during the hearing.
The actor was convicted by a trial court and sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks during the shooting of Hindi film Hum Saath Saath Hain here.
Meanwhile, Rampal Bhawad, state president of Bishnoi Tiger Force, said they were disappointed with the decision of the court to grant bail to Salman and said they planned to challenge this in high court.
The Bishnoi Samaj had registered the complaint against Salman for killing the two bluckbucks 20 years back as they consider animal to be the reincarnation of their religious Guru Bhagwan Jambeshwar, also known as Jambaji. � Agencies
