Salman Khan, who was accused of poaching a chinkara in Jodhpur during the shooting of his film ‘Hum Saath Saath hain’ in September 1998, has slapped a defamation case of Rs 100 crore against a TV news channel.

According to reports, the actor filed a suit before a division bench of the Bombay High Court in August, 2017 where he has claimed that the sting operation which was conducted by the channel in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case was 'defamatory and malicious'. The actor wants the channel to refrain from releasing the sting operation, which he claims will destroy his public image.

In the sting operation, the channel quoted the "witnesses saying that they saw Khan shoot the endangered chinkaras in Jodhpur.” However, later the "witnesses turned hostile and claimed the video was doctored".

On August 24, the last hearing was held where the channel claimed that they have already erased the tape and the script of the sting operation, including other material. In a hearing that took place earlier this month, both the parties submitted affidavits and informed the court that they were working out a settlement. On November 18, Justice SJ Kathawalla, who is presiding over the matter, will hear the case.

In a big relief for Salman Khan, the actor was acquitted on July, 2016 by the Rajasthan High Court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

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BY M. DIVYA SRI