Uncertainty over animal skin: Man acquitted in 22-yr-old case

"The prosecution has failed to establish on record whether alleged recovered skins were of tiger or leopard," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gorakhnath Pandey said, letting off the man accused of possessing and dealing in leopard skins.

The prosecution case was that accused Deepak Chopra, a resident of Central Delhi, was apprehended by a raiding team of crime branch with three leopard skin from Connaught Place on March 16, 1991 on the basis of a secret information.

The skin allegedly recovered from him was sealed and on December 12, 1991, with the permission of the court the seal was opened by wild life inspector and an identification memo was prepared.

The defence counsel argued that case property produced in the court cannot be linked with their recovery from the possession of the accused as no identification mark was put by the investigating officer on the case property at the time of its seizure and therefore, chances of false implication cannot be ruled out.

He argued it cannot be said that the hide was recovered from him.

The accused also argued that the alleged recovered uncured leopard skins were not sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for testing, hence the genuineness of the alleged skins is doubtful. (More)