The districts and sessions court on Saturday exempted Hindi cinema megastar Salman Khan from making an appearance in a case related to the poaching of two black bucks in Rajasthan's Jodhpur back in 1998. The actor has been asked to appear on February 6.

As per reports, this is the seventeenth time Khan has skipped a hearing since 2018. A petition was filed challenging a trial court order that could sentence the actor to a five year imprisonment.

Considering the pandemic situation, we submitted an application seeking exemption from appearance," Khan's counsel Nishant Bora said to IANS.

Sessions Judge Devendra Kachhawaha directed Khan to appear before the court on the next date of hearing on February 6. Khan was absent during has last hearing scheduled on December 1 , 2020 citing the same reasons.

"A trial court in 2018 had convicted Khan and awarded him five-year imprisonment for killing two black bucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur during the shooting of his film Hum Saath Saath Hain in October 1998. Khan had challenged the trial court verdict in the sessions court," an IANS report said.