BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has quashed criminal proceedings initiated under the Wildlife Protection Act against Horticulture and Mines Minister S S Mallikarjun, his brother S S Ganesh, an industrialist, and others on grounds of violation of procedure in registration of the crime by the forest department and also the order by the magistrate.
Along with Mallikarjun and Ganesh, who are sons of senior Congress MLA Shyamanur Shivashankarappa, proceedings were quashed against two other accused -- Sampanna Mutalik and Karibasappa.
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing three separate petitions filed by the accused against the proceedings pending before the magistrate court in Davanagere.
The court noted that the forest officer, after conducting a search and seizure, has to record all details in the wildlife offence register in a prescribed format and prepare a report. Only after that, the complaint should be filed. However, this was not done at all, the court added.
The court also noted that further proceedings could not be permitted to continue as even the procedure followed by the magistrate was completely topsy-turvy.
According to the prosecution, one Senthil was taken into custody by the Hebbal police in Bengaluru after he was found selling pelts, antlers and teeth of wild animals on Ballari Road and a crime was registered under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Senthil stated before the police that he was rearing wild animals on instructions of the owner of Kalleshwar Rice Mills at Anekonda in Davanagere district. On searching the premises, the CCB police communicated the same to the Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Davanagere, for further action. The Range Forest Officer (RFO) filed a private complaint before the magistrate stating that he found several animals, including spotted deer and black buck, in the farmhouse of Mallikarjun, on December 21, 2022.
Then the magistrate took cognisance of the offences and issued a direction to the ACF to conduct the investigation. Thereafter, the ACF registered the FIR under the Karnataka Forest Manual for offences punishable under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The final report was submitted on May 8, 2023, and the magistrate took cognisance yet again against the seven accused.