Blackbuck Poaching Case: Sonam Kapoor Stands In Solidarity With Salman Khan, Says He's The Best

The Jodhpur court pronounced its verdict in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case on Thursday, in which Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam were accused. While Saif, Sonali, Tabu and Neelam were acquitted by the court, Salman was convicted Under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. The court delivered a sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 to the actor who is now imprisoned at the Jodhpur Central Jail.

Several Bollywood celebrities including Jaya Bachchan, Arjun Rampal and Subhash Ghai expressed their views on the verdict and said that their heart goes out to Salman and his family, while still others visited Salman's residence- Galaxy Apartments- to be with the family during the tough time. Sonakshi Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Malaika Arora, Daisy Shah, Sneha Ullal were snapped outside his house. His co-actor of many films, Preity Zinta, flew to Jodhpur and visited Salman in jail.

But while many have spoken in his favour, a large part of Bollywood has remained silent. Sonam Kapoor, who has worked with Salman in the megahit Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, on Saturday took to Twitter to share that she stands in solidarity with the actor. "You’re the best! Always by your side!" she wrote alongside a photo of the two.

Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar, who has worked with Salman in Tiger Zinda Hai had earlier taken to Twitter and shared a photograph of Salman and used three heart emojis to caption it.

Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan also shared that Salman and his family have the utmost respect and faith in the Indian judiciary system. "I know for a fact that Salman bhai and his family have the utmost respect and faith in our judiciary system. @BeingSalmanKhan is one of the strongest and most genuine people I know and I’m sure he will come out of this stronger," he wrote on Twitter.

Some of Salman's closest aides in Bollywood including Katrina Kaif, Kabir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, haven't spoken out on the verdict yet.

Meanwhile, the Jodhpur Sessions Court Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi has reserved the order on actor Salman Khan’s bail plea till after lunch. Joshi and trial court judge Dev Kumar Khatri, who had convicted Salman Khan and sentenced him to five years in jail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, are among more than 100 judicial officers transferred in Rajasthan.