Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been given relief from the Supreme Court and will not be facing trial for the 1998 blackbuck hunting case in Rajasthan.

Salman Khan along with his ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre were charged with Wildlife Protection Act after they were accused of poaching and killing two black bucks during the shooting of their movie ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’.

On Thursday, the apex court bench headed by Justice P. Sathasivam declined to accept the Rajasthan government's plea that film stars should also be tried for rioting under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

The state government had come to the apex court challenging the Rajasthan High Court order by which it has authorized a lower court to withdraw charges of rioting against Salman Khan and four others.

Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Neelam and Tabu have been accused of poaching two Black Bucks during the nights of 1-2 October, 1988, in Kankani Village near Jodhpur during the shooting of their movie ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’.