ORDER :

Crl.R.P.No.3327/2005 is by accused Nos.1, 4 and 5. Crl.R.P.No.43/2006 is by accused No.3. During the pendency of the revision, accused No.5 passed away. Nobody turned up to implead themselves and to substitute in the place of deceased.

2. Accused No.1, 3, 4 and 5 were found guilty of the offence punishable under Section 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act (for short, 'the Act') for the violation of prohibition under Section 9 of the Act. The conviction is mainly based on a confession statement alleged to have given by the accused persons before a Forest Range Officer during the course of investigation. It is under challenge mainly on the reason that the Forest Range Officer is not an authorized officer empowered to record statement under Section 50(8) of the Act, hence, it is submitted that the confession statement is vitiated and cannot be relied upon.

3. But, the prosecution heavily relied on the legal position settled by the Apex Court in Motilal v. Central Bureau of investigation and another [(2002) 4 SCC 713].

4. To resolve the issue, it is necessary to have an understanding with respect to the authority which has been given under sub-section (8) of Section 50 of the Act along with the other provisions, sub-section (1) and (9), which are extracted below for reference:

“50. Power of entry, search, arrest and detention -(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the Director or any other officer authorized by him in this behalf or the Chief Wild Life Warden or the authorized officer or any forest officer or any police officer not below the rank of a sub-inspector, may, if he has reasonable grounds for believing that any person has committed an offence against this Act,-

(a) require any such person to produce for inspection any captive animal, wild animal, animal article, meat [trophy, uncured trophy, specified plant or part or derivative thereof] in his control, custody or possession, or any license, permit or other document granted to him or required to be kept by him under the provisions of this Act;

(b) stop any vehicle or vessel in order to conduct search or inquiry or enter upon and search any premises, land, vehicle or vessel, in the occupation of such person, and open and search any baggage or other things in his possession;

(c) seize any captive animal, wild animal, animal article, meat, trophy or uncured trophy, or any specified plant or part or derivative thereof, in respect of which an offence against this Act appears to have been committed, in the possession of any person together with any trap, tool, vehicle, vessel or weapon used for committing any such offence and, unless he is satisfied that such person will appear and answer any charge which may be preferred against him, arrest him without warrant, and detain him:

Provided that where a fisherman residing within ten kilometers of a sanctuary or National Park, inadvertently enters on a boat, not used for commercial fishing, in the territorial waters in that sanctuary or National Park, a fishing tackle or net on such boat shall not be seized.

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(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, any officer not below the rank of an Assistant Director of Wild Life Preservation or an officer not below the rank of Assistant Conservator of Forests authorized by the State Government in this behalf shall have the powers, for purposes of making investigation into any offence against any provision of this Act,-

(a) to issue a search warrant;

(b) to enforce the attendance of witnesses;

(c) to compel the discovery and production of documents and material objects; and

(d) to receive and record evidence.

(9) Any evidence recorded under clause (d) of sub-section (8) shall be admissible in any subsequent trial before a Magistrate provided that it has been taken in the presence of the accused person.”

(emphasis supplied)

5. There shall not be any misunderstanding as to what amounts to “evidence” a