Last Updated on September 4, 2024 by Srijan Raj
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that offences under the Wildlife Protection Act should not be kept pending for long and trials against accused should be completed expeditiously. Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed a petition filed by Abdul Rehman and others, who were booked in 2008 for killing a spotted deer in Bandipur forest. The court questioned the delay in proceedings and urged the accused to bring them to books quickly.
The prosecution argued that the petitioners had not appeared before the trial court. Rehman and others sought to quash the proceedings initiated against them, claiming that they killed a deer in Bandipur Forest and took it to Sultan Bateri in Kerala. The police in Karnataka booked the accused as they had killed the deer in the forest. The court declined to accept this, as the killing of the deer took place within Karnataka, and the Wildlife Protection Act had sprung against them.
The court also noted that the issue is still being tried by the concerned court, and the petitioners have not appeared before the court. The court directed the concerned court to complete the trial within 12 weeks due to the facts and the petitioner’s dodging of the trial. The court emphasized that the petitioner could not be granted any protection and directed the court to complete the trial within 12 weeks.
Case Title: Abdul Rehman & Others Vs. State of Karnataka & ANR
