The police are authorized to investigate wildlife offences under the Wildlife Protection Act, emphasizing that even attempts to commit such offences are legally actionable.

JUDGMENT

01. Petitioner through the medium of this petition unde r Section 482 CrPC seeks quashment of FIR No. 15/2016 dated 13.04.2016 registered at Police Station Leh against him for commission of offences punishable under Section 08/51 of Wildlife Protection Act , and Sections 07/27 of Arms Act and consequential proceedings arising therefrom.

02. Petitioner has asserted that he is a national level shooter and has won many awards and accolades in National Level Shooting Competitions and that in the month of April 2016, he had gone to Ladakh for vacation and had taken along his licensed gun for repairing purpose through one of his friend who is an Army Officer and also a National Level Shooter and expert in repairing the same, under due authorization as he had an All India Arms License vide No. SWDN/12/2011/2.

03. It is stated that on 13.04.2016, he went for a ride in the official vehicle of his friend who was in Army along with his driver and was having in his legal possession his licensed weapon and while at Pathar Sahib Gurudwara road, he asked the driver to stop the vehicle and went out of the vehicle and in the said vehicle there were his cartridges as well as that of his friend and while he was walking there, around 8-9 persons in civil dress, while shouting reached the stop and started putting false allegations upon him that he had come there for shooting animals. He tried to make all of them understand that he was not doing anything wrong but they started abusing and beating him, causing several internal and external injuries. As a result, he got frightened and tried to run away in order to protect his life and liberty. However, the said unknown persons wrongfully restrained him and illegally detained him and when he threatened them to lodge a police complaint, they hatched a conspiracy against him and he and the army driver were forcibly boarded in the Scorpio vehicle and taken to a local Police Station. It was alleged that the Police under the influence of unknown local residents did not register a case against those persons and instead a complaint was entertained against him by the SHO Police Station concerned and an FIR was lodged against him for commission of offences punishable under Section 8 /51 of Wildlife Protection Act and the petitioner was wrongfully and deliberately arrested.

04. The petitioner has challenged the impugned FIR No. 15/2016 registered at Police Station Leh for commission of offences therein and sought quashment thereof on the ground that the allegations in the impugned FIR are so absurd and inherently improbable; that no prudent person can ever reach at just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against him; that he has never killed and never attempted to hunt any wild animal; that in view of the observation made by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Leh in his order 20.04.2016, granted bail in his favour that the accused had not violated the provisions of Wildlife Act, as such, no offence is made out against him; that no dead animal or meat of animal had been recovered by the Police and that FIR has been registered about four years back and since then the matter is still at the investigation stage as there was no substance in the impugned FIR and is being used just as a tool of harassment to him.

05. Pursuant to notice, respondents filed their objections to the petition in which they have asserted that on 13/04/2016 one-Tsering Angchuk, Wild Life Warden Leh, filed a written complaint to the effect on that day while he was returning from the field tour of Basgoo & Nimoo area, he received a telephonic call from Sh. Sonam Nurbu, Deputy Forester, Leh at around 4:30 p.m., informing him that he along with other wild life officials were on anti poaching tour near Magnetic Hill area, where they found some pers