ABDUL MALIK Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application for anticipatory bail.

(2.) Petitioner is the 6th accused in O.R. No.16 of 2021 of Mannamangalam Forest Station under the Pattikkad Forest Range, Thrissur District. The offences alleged against him along with accused Nos.1 to 5 and 7 to 9 are punishable under Ss. 9, 39[1](a)(d) and [3](a) (b), 57 and 51[1] of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.

(3.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 25/10/2021, the Pattikkad Forest Range Officer and his party found 5 persons in a red-coloured Maruti Alto car and they were found in possession of an Indian sand boa. The forest officers arrested 4 among them and seized their mobile phones, the Alto car and also the said sand boa. One among them named Munna ran away and escaped. The above OR got registered accordingly by arraying the arrested persons Siddique, Anil Kumar, Santhosh and Ramkumar as accused 1 to 4 respectively. On questioning them, it was revealed that the sand boa was brought to the place by the said Munna who got it from one Ashraf and the petitioner. It was also revealed that 2 other persons named Nibin and Salesh were waiting in an Innova car at the nearby place. But, the forest officers could not arrest them. The said Ashraf got arrayed as the 5th accused, petitioner as the 6th accused and Nibin, Munna and Salesh as the accused Nos.7 to 9 respectively in the case. The petitioner is totally innocent in the case. He got falsely implicated as the 6th accused in the case only based on the alleged information furnished by the arrested accused persons. If at all any such information was given by them, it is a false information. The petitioner was never in possession of any sand boa and there was no occasion for him to give such a sand boa to anyone as alleged.