An additional sessions judge at the Tis Hazari court refused to slap the stringent charges against 55-year-old Sansar Chand, who has been in jail since 2005.

Accused of killing over 200 tigers besides thousands of other wildlife species, Chand had opposed levying of charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act on technical grounds.

His counsel, Pramod Kumar Dubey, had said that a MCOCA case is not applicable against Sansar Chand as it was filed as a supplementary charge.

Reacting to the day's development, the Central Bureau of Investigation said it was yet to read the order. The agency, however, said that it would decide on the next course of action after consulting its legal team.

In 2010, the court had granted bail to Sansar Chand. Chand was arrested in June 2005 by Delhi Police from Paharganj area, after which CBI had taken him into custody.

During interrogation Chand had provided several clues to CBI and also pointed to the existence of an organized crime syndicate engaged in a large-scale operation across various wildlife sanctuaries in the country.

In 2005, the agency had chargesheeted him under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a first against any wildlife criminal.

Sansar Chand was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and one surety of the same amount. He, however, would not be out of jail owing to several other cases pending against him in other courts.

He is an accused in numerous cases under the Wildlife Protection Act for poaching of tigers in the Sariska tiger reserve.

His bail plea was opposed by CBI on the ground that he has been charged under MCOCA.

The court, however, said mere pendency of MCOCA case cannot be a ground for denying bail.

Besides Chand, others who were chargesheeted by CBI were Sudesh Kumar, Babu, Badal and Ritu.

In 2010, the top court had slammed Sansar Chand in the strongest terms for challenging his conviction, saying, "You are selling the skin of tigers and leopards. Tomorrow, you would sell even human skin."