After spending six nights behind bars, Bollywood star Salman Khan on Friday walked out of the prison after the Rajasthan high court gave bail and suspended his five-year sentence awarded for killing an endangered deer nine years back.
Justice H R Panwar ordered the release of the 41-year-old star in the chinkara poaching case after directing him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two surety bonds of Rs 50,000.
Clad in jeans and a white full-sleeved shirt, a relaxed Salman, sporting a black and grey cap and a black bag slung on his shoulders, came out of the jail shortly before 6 pm.
He waved to the crowd waiting outside to have a glimpse of him and once greeted them with folded hands.
The star's bodyguard -- Shera -- was the first to greet him outside the gate.
Salman was quickly put in a waiting vehicle by police and taken to the hotel on his way to Mumbai by a chartered flight.
His lawyers earlier fulfilled all the release formalities within a few hours after the judge gave the order giving the actor some reprieve.
The judge gave the order after hearing arguments for three hours on his revision petition along with the bail application.
The court fixed the next date of hearing the revision petition on October 24.
Salman, who was arrested last Saturday, was lodged in the Central Jail in Jodhpur after losing his appeal in the district and session court of Jodhpur against his five-year sentence in the chinkara poaching case awarded by the chief judicial magistrate on April 10, 2006.
The five-year sentence will remain suspended till the order on the star's revision petition is pronounced.
Salman's brother and sister -- Sohail Khan and Alvira -- greeted each other in the packed courtroom after the judge gave the bail order and then came out to inform their parents over telephone.
Salman's parents had already left for Mumbai.
Hundreds of fans had lined up outside the main gate of the jail premises for several hours to have a glimpse of the star.
The huge media contingent was visibly disappointed since there was no interaction with the star.
Salman has been on bail since April 2006 when he was released after spending three days in prison in connection with the poaching case.
He was reportedly in tears when the news of the bail order was given to him. His case was argued by Supreme Court lawyer Lalit Udai, Mumbai based advocates Dipesh Mehta and H M Saraswat while Additional Advocate General Kanti Lal Thakur responded to the arguments.
The thrust of the defence arguments was Salman's conviction was based on circumstantial evidence and that the lawyers were not able to cross-examine the prime prosecution witness Harish Dulani.
This witness was later declared hostile by the court. The lawyers told the high court that the lower courts have not properly considered arguments and rulings submitted by the defence.
The verdict of CJM court was liable to be quashed as it contains many errors, contradictions and irregularities, they said.
"The court had ignored our defence with regard to the prosecution witness Harish Dulani and Ashok Patni. When the court itself has declared Dulani a hostile witness, how could his evidential value be read against Salman," defence lawyers said.
Animal rights activists were up in arms against the bail order. Member of Parliament Maneka Gandhi and a leading activist said, "I find it shocking. How many times do we have to convict him."
