CRLP/15639/2014 of Sowbar Sadiq, Vs The State of AP, on 31 December 2014

Arguments

ORDER:

CRIMINAL PETITION No. 15639 of 2014

The petitioner, who is accused No.1, filed the presentapplication under Sections 437 and 439 Cr.P.C. seekingenlargement on bail in Crime No.170 of 2014 of SrikalahasthriRural Police Station, registered for the offences punishable underSections307, 353, 379 IPC, Sections 20 (1) © (ii) (iii) (iv) (vi) (x)and 29 (2) (b) of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act, 1967, read withRule 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Sandalwood and Red sanders woodTransit Rules, 1969.

The case of the prosecution is that on 04.11.2014 onreceiving the reliable informant about the smuggling of red sanderlogs, the Inspector of Police along with staff went to AkurthiRailway gate at the outskirts of Kamma Kothur village.While theywere checking the vehicles, at about 3.00 a.m. one TATA Spaciocar and Tata Indigo Car came there driven by its drivers in a rashand negligent manner.When the police party tried to stop them,the driver of the said vehicles tried to dash the police party to killthem.The police chased those two vehicles, and when stoppedthem, the inmates who are 11 members got down from the vehicleand pelted stones on the police party with an intention to kill them.The police could resist the same by showing the pistol and on theirwarning all the persons tried to run away.But with great difficultythe police could apprehend them and seized 323 kgs. of redsander logs in both the vehicles.The petitioner is one amongstthe person who was apprehended on the spot along with the redsander logs.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Public-Prosecutor appearing for the respondentState.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that evenaccepting the allegations in the report to be true no offence ismade out as the paper cutting of a local news paper show that thepetitioner was arrested prior to the date of incident.

Learned Public Prosecutor on instructions submits that theallegations made in the report prima facie do make out a case andfurther submits that the photograph published in the news paper donot contain the picture of the petitioner.

There is no dispute that the contraband, which has beenseized are red sander logs. CITES as well as International Unionfor Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has acknowledged that RedSandalwood is an endangered species. Red sandalwood isspecies of India seen nowhere in the world. It is found only inSouth India, especially in Cuddapah and Chittoor in the States ofTamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh border. Red sandalwoodpossesses medicinal properties viz., an anticoagulant, improveslocal circulation and used on traumatic wounds, aberrations andbruises. The Government of A.P. has banned the sale of RedSanders even by private parties, the wood is of huge demand inJapan, China and Western world and is very costly and it isincluded in the negative list of plant species for export purposes,implemented by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministryof Commerce, placing restrictions on international trade of RedSanders. Since large scale smuggling of Red Sanders is howeverreported from various quarters, to protect the species, a proposalwas made by the State of A.P. to Government of India for itsinclusion in Schedule VI of the Act. Sandalwood finds no place in CITES but was included in the Red List of IUCN as "vulnerable"and hence call for serious attention by the Central Government,considering the fact that all the sandalwood growing states havestated that it faces extinction. (T.N.Godavarman Thirumulpad v.[1]Union of India and others).

The averments in the report disclose that on the date ofincident 11 persons including the petitioner were arrested andabout 323 kgs. of red sander logs were recovered from the twovehicles.As there is a dispute with regard to the photograph ofthe petitioner published, who is a resident of Chennai in the newspaper and as the investigation is still pending, I am not inclined togrant bail to the petitioner.

Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is dismissed.

Conclusion

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C. PRAVEEN KUMAR, J

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