High Court stays Guaranteed Remittance on licence to kill nilgais and wild boars

NAGPUR: A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice MS Sonak at the Bombay high court has stayed the GR, issued on July 24, 2015, which granted deemed permission to farmers to kill wild boars and nilgais (blue bulls) damaging crops.

The staying of the GR comes as a setback to forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in whose hometown, Chandrapur, over 500 wild boars were killed in the last nine months.

The GR was issued by the state government amid pressure from local public representatives. As per the modified rules, range forest officers (RFOs) have to give permission to farmers to kill boars and nilgais damaging crops in 24 hours of application. If the officer fails to take a decision on the application, permission will be deemed to be granted after the stipulated period.

While hearing a PIL filed by a green farmer from Pune, the HC bench stayed the GR. The petitioner had objected some clauses in the GR and alleged it was unconstitutional and violates Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The petitioner's lawyer Dormaan Dalal argued that Right to Life in Article 21 of the Constitution of India extends to the right to animal life also. Chief general prosecutor (CGP) Abhinandan Vagyani contended that the GR did not infringe on the Wildlife Protection Act and it was fully constitutional. However, after hearing both the sides, the high court stayed the GR.

The then chief conservator of forest (CCF) of Chandrapur, Sanjay Thakre, had enforced the GR by inviting sharp shooter Shapat Ali Khan from Hyderabad who killed more than 500 boars. All the expenses for the culling operations were footed by the forest department.