Man accused in lion baiting case refused bail by Gujarat High Court

dna Correspondent  Updated: Jan 10, 2019, 05:45 AM IST

The Gujarat high court has rejected the bail application of Elyasbhai Hoth, who is accused of baiting lions in the Gir sanctuary. Hoth, a settler was arrested under various provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 after videos of him baiting lions with poultry went viral. The matter came to the high court after his bail was rejected by the trial court.
The court while rejecting the application said that after the charge-sheet is filed, the punishment prescribed under the law is of seven years, the court is required to consider the request of regular bail.
It also said that the accused had sought bail seeking parity with the co-accused in the case who had already been given bail. There were not only oral evidence but electronic evidence against the accused.

The counsel for the applicant had sought bails on the ground that since the trial in the case was not likely to be over in the matter soon he should be granted bail. He further argued that there were many others who had indulged in similar activity but no action was taken against them.
Opposing the application, the state argued that Asiatic lions were protected species under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Act and Hoth was the kingpin in the case. The others who had been bailed out had very limited role to play in the incident.
The state argued that Hoth had been indulging in such things for quite some time as he had been allotted land near the sanctuary under Tribal Settlement Act had he missed this. They also argued that video recording evidence of the act was also available.
It said apart from baiting the animals, the video recordings also show the presence of liquor bottles and other prohibited items which are completely banned in the Gir Sanctuary.

https://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-man-accused-in-lion-baiting-case-refused-bail-by-gujarat-high-court-2706209