Noting out that forest officials who were involved in seizures had powers vested in them that equalled customs officials, Karthik Shukul, Advocate of Supreme Court and Bombay High Court, said that in most cases, it was difficult for lawyers to convince the Judge and only a few cases saw favourable judgments coming the side of the Forest Department.

However, he added that the Judges may see the crime in a holistic way referring to the judgment given by High Court of Mumbai in the ‘State of Maharashtra vs Suraj Pal’ case in which the Bench gave a sentence of seven years’ imprisonment and cancelled the bail plea of the accused.

“The Bench observed that the crime in which a tiger was skinned and boned will have a huge impact on the society at large, the seriousness of the crime and considering the importance of a tiger, which is a national animal, and an essential part of the food chain, it is essential that the quantum of punishment is maximum,” he pointed out.

He further stated that the counsels should refer earlier judgment in similar cases to make sure that the culprits receive the due punishment.

“Only if the culprits are punished and imprisoned can such crimes be stopped as we found that these culprits keep repeating the same and influence others in a major way,” he said.

Securing evidence and making sure the criminals involved got maximum punishment under the law were the best possible ways to curb wildlife crime, according to speakers at the National Level Workshop on ‘Capacity Building for Effective Wildlife Law and Enforcement’, here on Friday.

Vivek Kishore, Joint Director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), said that it was essential for officers involved in seizures to gather evidences such as fingerprints and footprints from the spot to identify and punish criminals.

He further added that the evidences would help in further investigations on the same case. He asserted that a case should be immediately registered and the evidences produced.