Advocates:
['RAHUL S KUREKAR', 'RAHUL JAYWANTRAO SHINDERAHUL JAYWANTRAO SHINDE', 'RAHUL JAYWANTRAO SHINDE', 'APP']

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR

CRIMINAL APPLICATION [ABA] NO.543 OF 2016

(Manoj Vasantrao Jagtap and another

vs.

The State of Maharashtra, through Conservator of Forest Department, Amravati)

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Office notes, Office Memoranda of

Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court’s or Judge’s Orders

or directions and Registrar’s orders.

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Shri R.S. Kurekar, Advocate for the Applicants.

Shri S.J. Kadu, A.P.P. for the Non-Applicant/State.

CORAM

: S.B. SHUKRE, J.

DATE

: 27

^th SEPTEMBER, 2016.

Heard the learned Counsel for the applicants and the

learned A.P.P. for the State.

This is an application filed by the applicants seeking

anticipatory bail in P.O.R. No.45/14, registered with the

Conservator of Forest, Amravati for the offence punishable under

Section 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 (‘the Act of

1972’ for short) in relation to violation of Sections 9, 39(3)(a)

(b)(c), 44(1)(b), 48(a), 49, 49-B(1)(b).

At about 9:00 p.m. of 17/07/2016, the Forest

Officers received an information that some people having

illegally captured a wild animal, listed in the Schedule to the Act

of 1972, killed it, cooked its meat and consumed it as food in a

party organized in one agricultural field situated within the

precincts of village Pimpalbhuta, District Amravati. After

making necessary preparations for conducting raid, which took

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about 3 to 4 hours, the search team visited the agricultural field

in the early hours of 18/07/2016 i.e. at about 01:00 a.m. and

stumbled upon a few empty liquor bottles, animal bones and

pieces of leftover meat strewn in front of a hut erected in the

field. The team also found one person Maroti Waghmare as

present in the field. Upon inquiry, he told the members of the

team that he was the caretaker of the field. When questioned

more intensely, he spilled the beans giving all the details of

what happened there in the evening of 17/07/2016. His

disclousure revealed several such things as pointing out

commission of a wild life offence. They were, in brief, thus - the

field was owned by father of applicant No.1; that applicant No.1

was there in the field since morning; that he told him that 5-6

persons from Amravati were going to descend on the field by

evening, carrying with them ‘Ghorpad’, a wild animal commonly

known in English as Monitor Lizard, for being feasted on in a

party that was to be held in the field later in the evening; that he

was asked by applicant No.1 to make necessary preparations for

cooking of the meat of the Monitor Lizard; that by 06:00 p.m. or

06:30 p.m. about 6-7 persons reached the field travelling in two

separate cars; that by these cars, one dead Monitor Lizard and

some other articles required for its cooking and also a few liquor

bottles were brought to the field and that the Monitor Lizard was

then de-skinned, cut into smaller pieces, cooked and consumed

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by all these persons including both the applicants and said

Maroti Waghmare. The statement of Maroti Waghmare was

accordingly recorded by the Forest Officers and wild life crime

was registered. Panchnama was drawn out and further

investigation was carried out. It disclosed involvement of both

these applicants. Now their custodial interrogation is being

sought by the Forest Officers.

Shri Kurekar, learned Counsel for the applicants,

submits that except for the statement of the co-accused, there is

no evidence available on record showing prima facie involvement

of the applicants in the crime registered against them and

others. He submits that the statement of the co-accused