Actor Salman Khan had a tough time trying to convince the Supreme Court that the Rajasthan high court was right in suspending his conviction in the 16-year-old black buck killing case.
The apex court wanted to know from his lawyer, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, whether HC had suspended his case on merit or on the ground that a foreign country had refused Salman entry for a Hindi film shoot last year.
The counsel told the court that the actor would have faced hardships had his conviction not been stayed by the high court as that would adversely affects his right to travel abroad.
The bench of justices SJ Mukhopadhyay and AK Goel said Khan's conviction could not be stayed merely because it would come in the way of him getting a British visa.
"It's completely perverse and not based on evidence. Can a conviction be suspended merely because you want a visa? If the same principle is applied, any convicted person can apply for services (jobs) after getting his conviction suspended," the bench said.
The bench also referred to its recent verdict on disqualification of lawmakers in the event of conviction, and asked if the conviction of a politician could also be stayed merely because he says he would face hardships and be disqualified as an MP/MLA after being convicted.
The bench said the court and the government had allowed Salman to go abroad, but if he is not given visa to travel to the UK because of being convicted, then he should approach the British authority.
"There is no restriction on you in this country. Court and government have allowed you to go abroad, so your rights have been taken care of. So, if you have any grievance, you can approach a UK court," it said, adding that the court could not issue a writ to British authorities to consider and grant Salman visa.
After hearing the arguments, the bench reserved its verdict on Rajasthan government's appeal challenging the HC order staying Khan's conviction in the black buck hunting case in which a trial court had awarded him five-year jail term.
The Rajasthan government had approached the apex court against the HC order which had, on last November 12, stayed his 2006 conviction in the case and paved the way for him to get a British visa. Under British immigration rules, any person convicted for more than four years is not eligible for visa.
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