The magistrate, who told Khanna he was cancelling the warrant as ``a last chance'', had cancelled non-bailable warrants against the actor on four earlier occasions. Khanna has now been told to appear before the court on October 20.

The warrants were issued in respect of cases 166-174 dated August 21, 1998, with the actor being charged under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and Sections 35A and 35D of the Wealth Act, 1957. The former superstar has been charged with investing Rs 4 lakh in M/s Ashirwad Mini Theatre in 1983 without disclosing the same to the Income-Tax Department or reflecting the sum in the account books for assessment.

According to the public prosecutor, Khanna had stated that the alleged investment was made by his wife Dimple.However, investigations have revealed that he himself had made `benami investments', the prosecutor said.

Khanna's advocate told the court that his client could not attend the court due to the Kargil conflict. However, the magistrate pointed out that while the Kargil issue was just a few weeks old, the case dates back to 1983.

When the magistrate fixed August 18 as the next date of hearing, Khanna pleaded that it be postponed in view of the forthcomming Lok Sabha elections. The court then scheduled the next hearing for October 20.