Breather for Aamir in chinkara case

AHMEDABAD: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan on Friday got a reprieve from the Gujarat High Court which stayed bailable arrest warrants against him and four others for alleged filming of chinkara, a protected animal, in his movie Lagaan.

Khan contended that chinkara had not been used in the Oscar-nominated movie and the relevant scene was created using computer graphics.

The Bhuj court had on March 27 issued bailable warrants against Aamir, his ex-wife Reena, film's director Ashutosh Gowarikar, executive director Srinivas Rao and a photographer Ashok Mehta.

Khan had approached the High Court demanding a stay on the Bhuj court's proceedings against them.

In his order, Justice Harsha Devani of the High Court stayed the lower court proceedings and also the execution of the bailable arrest warrants issued against the five. The HC issued notice to the state forest department and adjourned the hearing to April 25.

The complaint against Khan and others was filed in the court by Deputy Forest Officer J V Vyas, as they had not responded to several notices sent by the forest department asking them to remain present for questioning, sources said.

Commercial filming of chinkara, a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, without taking due permission is prohibited, forest officials argued.

In Lagaan, shooting for which was held mostly in Kutch in 2000, chinkara footage was taken without the permission of the forest department, they added.