DARJEELING, Oct. 31: The chief judicial magistrate court could not release Czech entomologist Mr Petr Svacha's passport from judicial custody today owing to the absence of the magistrate. The court has fixed 4 November as the next date for collection of the passport.
It may be mentioned that renowned scientist Mr Svacha had been arrested with Czech national Emil Kucera from Singalila National Park with more than 200 specimens of rare insects.
The CJM had found them guilty for violating Indian wildlife regulations. However, Mr Svacha had been acquitted of charges with a fine of Rs 20,000, while another scientist Kucera had been convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The latter jumped bail and fled to the Czech Republic recently. The passports of both lay seized in judicial custody of the court and Mr Svacha was supposed to collect his passport today. However, the Czech embassy has informed the court today that he is now in New Delhi and was unable to be present in court due to health reasons. It has also requested the defence lawyer Mr Taranga Pandit to collect the passport on his behalf.
In Kucera's case, his appeal trial against the lower courts verdict is scheduled to start in the first week of November.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment