New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought
response of Rajasthan government on a parole plea of notorious
wildlife trader kingpin Sansar Chand who is serving a five-
year jail term for smuggling leopard skins in 2003.
The court has also permitted two NGOs to file their
intervention application in the case after they submitted that
the accused' criminal profile must be examined before granting
him parole.
A bench of Justices Markandey Katju and T S Thakur
granted the state government four weeks time to file its
counter affidavit after its counsel Manish Singhvi opposed the
convict's plea.
Chand, who is undergoing jail-term in a case related
to smuggling of claws, skin, teeth and other animal parts in
Bhilwara in 2003, filed a special leave petition (SLP) last
year in the apex court challenging his conviction.
NGOs Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) and
Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have also been allowed to file
an intervention petition.
Despite the large number of cases against Sansar and
his accomplices, he has received only two convictions - in
first case against him in Delhi in 1974 and in the case in
Bhilwara, Rajasthan, in January 2003.
Chand, who is presently lodged in an Ajmer prison, has
several wildlife cases registered against him including those
relating to the disappearance of tigers from Sariska. He has
been involved in poaching activities for over three decades.
In 2006, under interrogation by the CBI, Chand
allegedly admitted to selling 470 tiger skins and 2,130
leopard skins to just four clients from Nepal and Tibet.
PTI
First Published: Monday, July 05, 2010, 22:15