The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved orders on the Rajasthan government’s appeal against a State High Court order staying actor Salman Khan’s conviction in the cinkara and blackbuck poaching cases to allow the actor to travel to the United Kingdom for a movie shoot.
The prolonged hearing saw a Bench of Justices S.J. Mukhopadhyay and A.K. Goel mix tough talk with a rare display of empathy towards the actor, suggesting that a hero’s charm stays only as long as his youth.
“The life of a hero will be his age. The charm may not be with him always... Nobody can compensate him for his loss in case he is later acquitted,” Justice Mukhopadhyay observed.
But the Bench went on to question the High Court’s order staying Mr. Khan’s conviction without going into the merits of the case. To this, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Mr. Khan, argued that he was merely seeking an opportunity to be considered eligible for a visa. The Bench then said lawmakers too face disqualification in the event of conviction. “Can their conviction be stayed merely on the ground that they face hardship?” Justice Mukhopadhyay countered. Under British immigration rules, any person convicted for more than four years is not eligible for a visa.
