In the meantime, the High Court today allowed bail to the former SDM, now posted at Chandigarh. Acting Chief Justice Mr H.S. Bedi passed the order, on a quashing petition, which Mr Goyal had filed against the orders of the Additional Sessions Judge, Hoshiarpur. The latter had declined Mr Goyal’s bail plea following which Mr Goyal had appealed against the order in the High Court and secured a stay on his arrest.
Today, counsel for the witnesses, Mr Gunraj Singh and Mr Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa (former wildlife wardens of Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur respectively), opposed Mr Goyal’s bail plea stating that he had been allegedly threatening the witnesses, interfering with the investigation procedures by procuring wrong reports, and had been in general trying to escape the issue.
It may be recalled here that a detailed forensic examination of the dead peahen had revealed the alleged involvement of Mr Goyal in the case. The palettes of bullets recovered from the bird’s body had matched the shots from Mr Goyal’s gun, thus placing him on a weak footing.
The High Court, however, ruled in favour of Mr Goyal today, while also allowing bail to his accomplices – the driver of the jeep in which the carcasses were found and another man. It also took strict notice of the inordinate delay in the filing of the challan against the accused under the Wildlife Protection Act. Hence the direction that departmental proceedings against him be initiated soon, and challan be filed in a month’s time.
Speaking to The Tribune today, counsel for witnesses in this high profile case said the High Court had steered the case in the right direction. He said, “We hope the challan is filed within the stipulated time. If it is not we will file a contempt petition against the accused in this poaching case which raises serious concerns about the general health and safety of the peacock in its own land.”
