Dutt out, Khan in?

While Sanjay got out relatively quitely in the early hours of the morning from Yerawada jail in Pune, Salman Khan will be waiting with bated breath to find out if he will be joining his one-time partner in jail soon. Salman's hearing in the chinkara poaching case today is about the appeal he had filed on being convicted in April 2006.

His lawyers have said that they have a strong case but if one remembers correctly, Sanjay Dutt's lawyers had also believed that he will be given bail. This is what his lawyers had to say, “The court has initiated proceedings against the key eyewitness Gypsy driver Harish Dulani in this case, he went absconding right after giving his testimony. How can Salman be sentenced on the basis of the testimony of an absconder?” Salman's lawyers also say the forensic evidence found on the actor's car was inconclusive, and the case - registered under the Wildlife Protection Act - was filed by the police and not the forest department officials. But the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan - that played a major role in Salman's conviction - says the arguments aren't new. The Bishnois regard the chinkara as a sacred animal and this has made passions run strong among the community. They of course, are hoping that the actor gets his due punishment.