Supreme Court declines to proceed on contempt action against Maharashtra forest officials
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Bench realised the choice to kill ‘man-eater’ tigress Avni had been confirmed by the court docket itself.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to proceed additional with a contempt action against Maharashtra forest officials over the killing of Avni, a “man-eater” tigress, in 2018, after realising that the choice to kill the cat had been confirmed by the court docket itself.
“If the decision to kill the tigress was confirmed by the Supreme Court, we are not going to reopen it,” Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde, main a three-Judge Bench, addressed petitioner Sangeeta Dogra.
Ms. Dogra persevered that the officials took half in “celebrations” after the tigress was shot down. “The investigation [into the death of the tigress] was going on, how could they celebrate at a function?” Ms. Dogra claimed.
Advocate Kartik N. Shukul, for the forest officials, nonetheless categorically denied that his purchasers have been “directly or indirectly” part of any celebrations.
Chief Justice Bobde stated the celebrations could have been by the villagers. “The officers have sent a note that they have not celebrated,” the CJI stated.
The court docket allowed Ms. Dogra to withdraw even because the latter stated she had introduced a “very serious issue”.
“It is a very serious issue but we cannot interfere at this stage… Next time you come in advance. We will stop it,” Chief Justice Bobde addressed the petitioner.
In the earlier listening to, the court docket had issued discover to Vikas Kharge, Principal Secretary, Department of Revenue and Forests, Mumbai, and different Maharashtra Forest Department officials on Ms. Dogra’s contempt petition.
The court docket had, final time, additionally determined to look at the declare that the tigress was actually a man-eater. Avni is claimed to have killed 13 villagers. The animal was reported to have been shot lifeless close to Borati village in Yavatmal by a workforce of Forest Department officials and civilian hunter Asgar Ali.
The incident had triggered outrage amongst wildlife activists, who alleged that no efforts have been made to tranquillise Avni and so they known as it “murder in cold blood”.
Officials had, on the time, stated a workforce of three Forest Department personnel and Mr. Ali shot the tigress, formally often called T-1, on the Borati-Warud Road in Yavatmal, information reviews stated.
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