O R D E R

Dated this the 26th day of February 2021 This Bail Application filed under Section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code was heard through Video Conference.

2. The applicants have approached this Court for anticipatory bail assuming that they have been implicated as accused in Crime No. 1 of 2020 of Anakulam Forest Range Office, Idukki District for having allegedly committed offences punishable under Sections 2(16)(b), 9, 39(1) and 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.

3. The prosecution case in brief, is that on

31.12.2020 at about 8.30 p.m., the applicants and 2 others allegedly threw crackers at elephants to scare them away, and that despite the forest officials preventing them from doing so, they did not desist from their activity, and also deterred the forest official from performing their duty even assaulted them. Thus the applicants attempted to commit culpable homicide.

4. The applicants state that the allegations are not true and that, they are entitled to anticipatory bail and that apart from the alleged confession statement of accused Nos. 5 and 6, who had been already arrested. There is no other material to indicate the involvement of the applicants in this crime