Courts don’t treat me as celebrity, claims Salman

The state has said that the HC granted special privileges to him by staying his conviction in which he was sentenced by a trial court to undergo five-year jail term. Khan submitted that the high court stayed his conviction to enable him to travel abroad for his professional engagements.

Bollywood star Salman Khan has told the Supreme Court that he has always been treated as an ordinary citizen by courts and has not been given special privileges.

He sought to justify a Rajasthan high court order suspending his conviction in the blackbuck hunting case, as he opposed the state government’s appeal against the HC order.

The state has said that the HC granted special privileges to him by staying his conviction in which he was sentenced by a trial court to undergo five-year jail term. Khan submitted that the high court stayed his conviction to enable him to travel abroad for his professional engagements.

The HC had on November 12 last stayed his 2006 conviction in the case and paved way for him to apply for a British visa. “It is denied that the High Court granted me special privilege because I am a celebrity. The courts have at all times treated me as any other ordinary citizen and I have always complied with the conditions imposed upon me,” the star stated in his affidavit.