Judge hearing Salman Khan bail request transferred
Judge hearing Salman Khan bail request transferred in Rajasthan A sessions court judge who is expected to decide today if Bollywood superstar Salman Khan will have a long stay in the Rajasthan's Jodhpur central jail or not has been transferred in an annual shake-up. Ravindra Kumar Joshi, Jodhpur Sessions Judge was among 87 judges who have been transferred. Dev Kumar Khatri, the judge who sent Salman Khan to jail for killing two blackbucks 20 years ago has also been transferred. Chandra Kumar Songara will replace Joshi within a week's time. Judge Joshi had, on Friday, put off the hearing by a day as he wanted to see the entire case record before deciding whether Salman Khan should be granted bail. Judge Khatri will be replaced by Samrendra Singh Sikarwar, who is the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Udaipur. Both the judges are among 382 judicial officers transferred or promoted by the Rajasthan High Court. On Thursday, Judge Khatri had convicted Salman Khan and sentenced him to jail for five years for poaching two endangered blackbucks in 1998, emphasizing that the "accused is a film star and people look up to him". "The way the accused killed two innocent black bucks in violation of the wildlife laws...he is a film star, people emulate him and look up to him... and there has been a rise in poaching incidents, so leniency is not justified given the severity of the crime, the evidence and the circumstances," Judge Khatri had said, explaining his decision. -PTC News
