According to the petition, the Government of Maharashtra had relaxed the rule of killing of wild animals like wild boars, Rohi and Nilgai.
According to the petition, the Government of Maharashtra had relaxed the rule of killing of wild animals like wild boars, Rohi and Nilgai.
The Bombay high court has stayed one section of a Government Resolution (GR) that gave deemed permission to farmers to kill wild boar, Nilgai (blue bull) and Rohi (Asian antelope) if a forest ranger fails to take decision on an application filed by an agriculturist within 24 hours. The section says if the ranger does not respond within 24-hours of making the application, the permission is to be considered granted.
A division bench of Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing a PIL filed by an environmentalist from Pune who challenged the second section of a GR, which was issued by the government on July 22, 2015.
According to the petition, the Government of Maharashtra had relaxed the rule of killing of wild animals like wild boars, Rohi and Nilgai because they destroy crops of farmers. The GR read, aggrieved farmers should make an application before the forest ranger and seek permission to kill such animals. Further, a section of the GR says that the concerned forest ranger has to take a decision on such applications within 24 hours of filing it and if he fails to take decision, such permission is deemed to have been granted.
The petitioner objected to the said sections of the GR and alleged it is unconstitutional and violates Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
The petitioner’s lawyer Dormaan Dalal argued that the Right to Life in Article 21 of the Constitution of India also extends to the right to animal life.
Chief general prosecutor Abhinandan Vagyani argued the state’s GR does not infringe on the Wildlife Protection Act and it is constitutional. After hearing both sides, the high court stayed the said section of the GR.
