Jodhpur, March 11 (IANS): The Rajasthan High Court on Monday issued notices to actors Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre in the blackbuck poaching case.

Dushyant Singh, a local, who was allegedly accompanying the actors when the incident took place, was also issued a notice.

The notices have been issued on a plea by the Rajasthan Forest Department, which has appealed against the acquittal of the five by a Jodhpur court last year.

All five have been asked to file their replies within eight weeks.

The case dates back to October 1998, when actors Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Neelam Kothari, Tabu and Sonali Bendre allegedly went on a hunting expedition in Kankani village near Jodhpur and killed two blackbucks.

Killing of blackbucks is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Salman Khan was declared guilty in the case, but was granted bail in April last year.

His accomplices, actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam as well as Dushyant Singh, were acquitted by the court, which gave them the benefit of doubt.