APPENDICES

Appendix I

STATEMENT OF MANTHY BABY ALIAS SEBASTIAN OF IDUKKI ZILA, A POACHER FROM KERALA

(Not Verbatim. As taken down from the Malayalam original by the first author. Italics not in original)

I, Manthy Baby alias Sebastian s/o Joseph, aged about 46 years residing in 6th mile area of Chakkuvallam village, Udumbakhola taluk, Idukki zila testify that:
I have been poaching for the last ten years ( the case is dated 6.1.1996 and therefore period in reference can be taken as 1985-95)in the Thekkady area for bison,nilgiri langur,pig,sambar,elephant,porcupine,sloth bear etc.In my estimate, I would have poached 17 bison, 300 nilgiri langur, 60 sambar and about 13 elephants in this period. All the elephants have been shot in the last four years or so and have all been tuskers. They used to yield between 2 1/2 to 10 kilos of ivory per pair of tusks.. In Tamil Nadu, tusks and hair from the tail of the elephant are both in demand. Ivory fetches between Rs 4000-5000 per kilo. I used to get only Rs 2000 per kilo from Pullimukkil Gopalan. The last shooting of an elephant was in 1993. In September 1993, in fact, from the 2nd Mile area. The tusks were bought by Ravi. Ravi has curly hair, is black, around 50ish, comes sometimes in a tourist taxi. Leaves at night to Trivandrum where he has a shop.He has 6 sets (pairs) of tusks to sell now. In the September '93 incident, Pandian, Muthukan (Murugan?),Easwaran all from Kallashampetta(?) and Ayyappan and Shekaran from Gudalur came with me. I was the shooter, I used a 12 bore gun.

In the last year or so Our gang has also killed 5-6 tigers. The striped variety ,not the spotted one. We do not do much of this as ivory is more lucrative here. But in the last few years we have been getting orders for tiger skins as well. We have been supplying them to Bombay buyers - Mr. Swamy in Colaba is our contact person. I am told these go to Dubai from there.We shoot tigers and do not poison them in Kerala. On 26th April last year (1995) also we went hunting. Then Jose, Soman Joy and Kunchettan were with me. We got only bison and no elephants. We get Rs 100 per kilo for bison meat. Gopalan gets ivory from Varashanad,Churaliyar, Vellimalai and also from Gudalur in Tamil nadu. Gopalan is also known as Chellarkovil Gopalakrishnan.He has 10 sets of gunmen. 5 are in Gudalur (normally around an illicit liquor shop), the other 5 are in Varushanad. His three prime shooters are Kunjukutty, Maatthukutty(Pambady) and Jose.Gopalan also deals in sandal. In October he got one pair of tusks weighing 9 kilos from Varushanad. Tamil Nadu people call tusks Choorutte or cigarettes as a code word . Poachers shoot between the ear and the temple. The trunk is then cut and the tusks hacked. Appannan,Jose and Babu (alias Pappachan) are also involved in the poachings. Between 1988-93, 13 tuskers have been shot. September 1993, 9 kilos were given by me to Gopalan and Rs 17000 given by him. If I remember correctly, the tuskers shot were from the following localities: Poovarashu-3, Meghamalai-4, Karikulam-2, Palkanchimala-3.

One day the Tamil Nadu poachers killed 5 females for the tushes and hair. They get Rs 30 per hair if taken to Madurai,. They can make about Rs 500 at least per assignment. Poachers get about Rs 750 per kilo and Rs 1000 per 1 1/2 kilos for tushes.

Appendix II

STATEMENT OF GOPALAN , A DEALER FROM KERALA

(Not verbatim. As taken down from the original Malayalam by the first author)

From 1989-93 I have purchased 13 pairs of tusks from Manthy Baby alongwith 5 pairs of tushes. I give Rs 2000 for the tusks (per kilo) and Rs 500 per kilo for the tushes. I clean and send the tusks to Trivandrum. Either my wife or I sell the tusks personally. Ravi (in Trivandrum) gives Rs 2250(too low) per kilo. Varashanad people gave me one pair (3 1/2 kilos), Kullashampetti Easwaran gave me 3 pairs (14 kilos) and Muthu who brings tusks from Varushanad to Gudalur gave me 17 1/2 kilos in 1995.

I met Ravi in Trivandrum Medical College when I went for treatment. He asked me if I can get him ivory. I thought of Manthy baby and said yes. 2 years back I traded in 26 tushes all ranging between 1 1/2 to 3 kilos. I personally do not trade in skins of tigers and leopards but these have been shot from the forests here and sent to Bombay. The following poachers are involved in tiger and elephant poaching. In case of skins they are first sent to Pollachi, Coimbatore or Mysore for tanning or semi-treatment. They are then either directly sent to Gulf via Mangalore or Calicut or otherwise taken through Bombay.

Appendix III

Transcript of conversation with A. Prasad, former ivory trader, Trichur, Kerala 22.5.1996

Interviewer (I): Hello, it is nice to meet you again
Prasad (P): It's good to see you too, when did you come in to Kerala
I: Last week. How's the business?
P: Good. How's your research coming along? (Doesn't wait for an answer, calls for refreshments.)
I: What news of your friends (ivory traders)?
P: (Laughs) Well ... you know I'm out of all that ... Those forestwallas ... all crooks, the lot of them, that DFO also -- all debtors to the traders. They're getting nothing out of me ... (Goes into a long diatribe against Kerala Forest Department.)
Contact (C): You know what they did to him, don't you?
I: What?
C: He used to give them ( Kerala forest officials) information, see. Then under pressure from the top because they hadn't made any arrests, they put him in jail, for two years he was ...
P: Atleast one good thing came of what the bastards did, I appeared in India Today.
C: But you know our friend isn't from the Department.
P: Yes, Yes ...
I: What are the traders doing these days?
P: Bad days actually. The carvers are doing badly because there's no demand in India now. Everything has to go out if the traders are to survive.
I: There's less ivory in the market?
P: No, no that there is, but Kerala was such a major centre for carving, you know.
I: What about Jaipur and Varanasi?
P: Jaipur, yes, in the north Jaipur is big. But Varanasi -- no, there we send left-overs from here, scrap, and they make little beads and such, that's all. Kerala was a very major centre. Carving was a full-scale industry for us ... I employed three types of carvers to work on each piece at different stages -- one to carve the rough block, one for the details and one man just to do the face, that's very important, the face. Then there were the painters and polishers. But that's all changed now. The craftsmen have switched to rosewood and sandalwood and many have no work.
I: Did the Ivory go out even earlier?
P: Of course it did. we used to get African ivory and Indian Ivory also went to the Middle East. Import-export , we called it (laughs). It used to go to Hong Kong and Macao but then Macao wasn't used anymore.
I: So now less ivory goes out.
P: Said who? Our elder brothers (Malayalee traders) in Dubai will make sure things go on as always.
C: Yes, but trade must have decreased.
P: On the contrary. There's no ivory coming in. All that is here goes out, to Dubai, so things are better that way. And now everything will increase anyway.
I: Why?
P: The meeting will change things.
I: What, the forest department's holding a meeting?
P: No, no, the international CITES. They tried last time but they didn't get the vote. They will this time. Ivory trade will open and everybody's going to be happy.
I: What does ivory sell for now?
P: It's become double since the olden days. About 6,000.
I: I heard it's gone up to eight.
P: No, not here, may be elsewhere. Here it is six, may be seven.
I: You can go back to your business now.
P: No, no, I'm married now and the family is rich enough. There are those who are doing it but I'm out of it. Those people are busy buying ivory now, they'll sell when the market is up.
I: So who are the people in it now?
P: Names ... It's been so long since I was into all that. I don't remember now.
I: You must remember someone ...
P: No ... the main buyer was in Bombay, but I forget his name, it's been so long. (Changes topic) You know ivory comes from the domestic elephants also. Ask the templewallas -- they cut every year, where does all that ivory go? (Gives names of people in some temples.)
I: How can I ask the templewallas?
P: If you can't then ask the veterinarians, they're there when the tusks are cut. Try finding out ... no one knows what happens to all that ivory, not even the gods inside those temples (laughs).

Appendix IV

Translation of Malayalam article in Malayalam Manorama by Thomas Dominic on 9th June 1996 titled
" Unremitting gunshots- an elephant poacher's revealations"

"The statistics given by the forest department are all false. If you go by their statistics the total number of elephants in the forest will be equal to the number of elephants killed by poachers every year."said poacher Baby (name concealed for security reasons) sitting on a rock in Arikkapara. Arikkapara is in Pariyaram range, 12 kilometres into the forest from Randu Kayye of Trichur district. Elephant Baby (as he is known) does not recall the number of elephants that he has shot. He must have shot and taken the tusks of atleast 50-60 elephants, perhaps a 100.The elephant poachers are not interested in such statistics.

"How many lakhs have you made from elephant poaching?" All the money has been made by the brokers. All that I have earned are a number of cases against me. I have to borrow Rs100 needed for the lawyer's fees every time.

"You may be having some concealed income in banks which will come of use after the cases are over." I swear on my wife and my dear children, honestly, I dont have even 10 paise. By my poaching the people who have made money are the brokers walking with diaries under their arms of Randu Kayye ( Trichur district, near Vellikulangara and the base camp next to the forest of many elephant poachers and ganja farmers) When we are in the forest we do not know the rates for tusks. it is for the tusks which I sold a little while ago that I got the maximum price. Rs 1750 per kilo. This is what I got after bargaining upwards from Rs 800. Two tusks weighed 34 kilos. We had eight people in our gang. The broker got Rs4000 per kilo, we learnt later. The current rate of tusks are Rs 6000-7000 per kilo.

" On an average how much would elephant tusks weigh?" We have got tusks from 5-10 kilos to 55 kilos for a pair. The 10 kilo one's are for the smaller tuskers.

"How many small tuskers have you killed?" I kill small tuskers when I get them.

" How many years have you poached elephants" 15 years.

" How difficult is it to get an elephant?" What a question. Sometimes I may not get any. If I am lucky I may get in a few days. We are normally a gang of 5-8 people. With food and other equipment, for a number of days,we climb the mountain. When this runs out we come back to the villages and buy more.

" Apart from the elephant which other animals have you set your sights on?" The dried meat of wild bison will fetch Rs 80 per kilo. If it is a large bison we will get 150-200-210 kilos of dried meat. If it is a cow bison, the weight will be much lesser after drying. For the bison for every 2 1/2 kg of fresh meat we get 1 kilo of dried meat.

"How do you dry the meat?" After salting, we thread the meat and string it over a fire. Even,for a large bison we need only 3 kilos of salt.

" How do you poach elephants?" I paid Rs 1500 for my first gun that I got made. Now it would be Rs3000-4000. I got my gun made by the blacksmith in Vellikulangara. He has gone to the Middle East now.

" How do you shoot the elephant?" Let me say it in my own way. When you go poaching elephants you have to against the wind, otherwise the elephant will get the smell. Let us say that you are going to the forest now. If the elephant gets the smell, you will not have to fire your gun. If the wind is not strong enough, then you have to wet your finger to detect the direction of the wind. The side fro which the wind is blowing will feel colder. Otherwise by lighting a match or by holding up a thread.

" Has the elephant ever got your smell?" Oh yes. It was a bit of an exaggeration when I had said that you do not need to shoot if the elephant gets your smell. If I am sure that he will charge, I will kill it. Once a lone bull charged me and made me run. After running for some time, I hid behind the scrub and the elephant did not see me. After searching for some time it went back. Lone elephants are stubborn and brave.

You can shoot from on top of a tree, on top of a rock or from the ground. In an elephant group there will be many tuskers. Out of that we look for the elephant with the biggest tusks. After we have identified it, we have to follow the herd for 2-3 days to get an oppurtune moment. When they are foraging they get seperated. If you have the courage you can shoot even if the elephant is within the herd.

Even after getting shot the elephant will get up and run. If the aim is accurate, the elephant will fall down silently and die within a minute. If the shooting is not accurate, the elephant will cry out. The herd will leave the wounded elephant only after trying several times to get him up.

We can shoot from 25-30 feet away. It is norally a single-barrel gun. There is a chance for only one shot. We fill 10-12 fingers of gun powder for an elephant. For other game 2-3 fingers is more than enough. If the elephant is shot behind the ear or on the temple(chenni) the elephant is sure to fall. It(the shot) must enter the brain.The target area is only about the size of a pappadam. We examine 2 or 3 angles and select the best. Although the target may be the same from many angles, there may be difference in accuracy from different angles. Once you have decided the best angle we shoot. Everything will be over in minutes. We cannot see the shot entering the elephant. We only see the elephant fallen down after the shooting. Sometimes the elephant jumps when it is shot. It is not really jumping but it is being thrown by the force of the shot. Sometimes after the shooting, we see the elephant jumping . The slug enters by piercing and splattering the flesh , but if it does not enter the brain, it is ineffective. I have got elephants with three of four shots in the brain. If the elephant escapes the wounds in the head do not get septic. They heal on their own.

" What is the maximum time that you have spent in the forest?" When there was steady poaching, even if I go home in between, I return to the forest immediately.It is difficult to see the tears of the family. Also, I cannot stay at home because of the fear of the forest officials.I have spent upto a maximum of six months in the forest in one stretch.

" Was there no understanding with the forest officials?" It is with the brokers that the forest officials have understanding.

" Do you know where the tusks are sold?" We are not allowed to have direct contact but in Trichur, Western Fort, there is a centre . There are markets in Trivandrum and Calicut. The Trivandrum market is big. After 15 yearsI have stopped poaching now. My parents are old and ill. My elder brother is not well. When my mother told me with tears in her eyes, I decided to stop everything.

"Why did you start poaching?" My environment is that.Most of my friends are those who take up a bundle and enter the forest. I was interested in the job of a mechanic. There was no one to join me for that.When you go into the forest you have to carry loads. There were people interested in letting me join for that.In my younger days, I went for the fun of it, later for earning a living.

"Do you feel that what you did was wrong?" I did it because I had no other way. Whenever I return, I hear that my family has been troubled by the forest officials.
If they have the ability, why dont they get into the forest and catch me? Every time I enter the forest with redoubled enthusiasm. Even when I dont get anything, I have shot female elephants ( because of the trouble caused to the family).Once I have shot an elephant near the forest range office so that the officers will be suspended. Vazhachal, Pariyaram, Malakkapara, Idukki etc are the places we have poached elephants in.We have shot elephants in Veerappan's Satyamangalam forests as well.

"So, you dont think that what you did was all that bad?" Has anybody prospered by killing off dumb animals.? To my knowledge, no. Even if I try to be good, there is no way. Even what others did are put on my head. Even what I have not done are put care of me. It is easy to trap a straightforward man.They will frame all cases on me. I doubt whether they will allow me to live (peacefully). Sometimes I feel that I should not live as a burden like this.Still, I will try. How many dumb animals have I killed.And their curses. You must have heard of the hunter who hangs onto the tail of a wild elephant and frightens it into running. Another, cuts off the trunk of the elephant shot by somebody else and also climb on top of the elephant and dance. These are stories. The poachers are most afraid of the elephants.

Even when I lie on the rocks with fire, the thoughts are on the elephant. Hanging on tails, indeed (he laughs) . If an elephant is stubborn, it will come disregarding even the fire. I used to climb onto a dead elephant after I shot it to see all around.

"In your knowledge how many poacher's are there?" There must be 15 people. All of them know how to shoot.

This is an interview with a elephant poacher who has made the forest tremble for a decade and a half. The main condition for this interview was anonymity.

Appendix V

EXCERPTS FROM A JUDGEMENT IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI

CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 1016 OF 1992

WITH CWP NOS. 1272/92, 1749/92, 1303/92 & 1964/93

DATE OF DECISION: MARCH 20, 1997.

M/s IVORY TRADERS VERSUS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS

UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

INTRODUCTION : These ten excerpts are from a landmark judgement given by the High Court of Delhi in favour of the Government of India (backed by NGOs and the conservation lobby) and against the ivory traders and manufacturers. The excerpts are from a 83 page judgement and give a hint of the spirit of the judgement as well as the official position of the Government of India and a number of prominent NGO and conservationists in the country.

1. On March 3, 1973, a significant International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) took place. The Convention resulted in an agreement between the member States, which was initially ratified by 10 countries and came into operation on July 1, 1975. As the Asian elephant was a highly endangered species, it was placed in Appendix-I of the CITES. Appendix-I includes all species threatened with extinction or which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species are subject to strict regulation in order not to endanger further the survival of these species and must be authorised in exceptional circumstances only. However, the African elephant was given place in Appendix-III which, unlike Appendix-I animals, did not enjoy immunity from being hunted and killed. The net effect of this was that while the hunting of the Asian elephant was banned and international trade in Asian ivory was virtually prohibited, the African elephant could still be hunted. India signed the convention in July 1974 and deposited the instrument of ratification on July 20, 1976. India became a party to the convention from October 18, 1976. A major development took place when the Parliament in order to amend the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, enacted on May 23, 1986 the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 1986 (Act No. 28 of 1986) whereby several changes were effected in the Principal Act including insertion of Chapter VA. On October 24, 1986, keeping in view the depletion of elephant population and in accordance with CITES, the Central Government intervened under section 61(1) of the Principal Act and transferred the Indian elephant to Schedule-I and listed the same at Entry 12B thereof. This was a major step towards protecting Indian elephant as Schedule 'I' animals enjoy complete immunity from being hunted. The 'elephant' having been put in Schedule '1' of the Act, the prohibition to kill the same came into force with immediate effect. As a result of this, trade and commerce in Indian Elephants was totally banned. This step was not challenged by the petitioners. It may be pointed out that import of ivory was not banned but was allowed subject to requirement of licence under section 44 of the Principal Act as amended by Act No. 28 of 1986. The African elephant like its Indian counterpart was also endangered and threatened by man and in order to save the specie, in October 1989 at the Lusanne CITES Meet, the African elephant was ungraded and included in Appendix '1' of the CITES and after three months of its inclusion w.e.f. January 18, 1990 international trade in in ivory was required to be banned. Almost all countries which are parties to the convention have given effect to it. The result of this was that vitually all International trade in ivory was prohibited with effect from the aforesaid date. In this country in order to bring the Principal Act 44 of 1991 inserted sub-clause (1a) to section 49B(1)(a) of the Principal Act as a result whereof the trade in "imported ivory" and articles made therefrom were completely prohibited from the "specified date". It may be noted that legislature has used the words ivory imported into India and not African ivory,
thus enlarging the area of operation of the Act. Now as to the meaning of the words "specified date", the Amendment Act through the insertion of sub-clause (iii) in clause (c) of section 49A has provided that the specified date in relation to ivory imported into India or an article made therefrom is the date six months from the commencement of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1991. That means, as per the above said provisions, dealers in imported ivory or articles made therefrom or manufacturers of such articles were required to liquidate their stocks and stop all activities relating thereto within six months of the commencement of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1991, i.e., April 2, 1992 (date of commencement of the Act being October 2, 1991 + six months therefrom). The Union of India in its reply dated April 30, 1992 and additional affidavit dated September 12, 1995, has maintained that despite the ban on the killing of the Indian elephant its poaching continues and the traders are actually dealing in ivory entracted from Indian 'elephant' under the garb and fascade of imported ivory resulting in the depletion of its population. Therefore, in order to stop the killings of Indian elephants, it was necessary to ban all trade in imported ivory.

2. The Central Government has pointed out in its counter-affidavit dated April 30, 1992 that there was serious problem to protect the Indian elephnat as long as the traders were allowed to deal with ivory imported from abroad. It is further pointed out that there is no readymade and easy method of distinction between imported ivory and Indian ivory. It is also pointed out that in the circumstances it was necessary to strike at the root cause of poaching and remove the incentive to kill elephants by banning ivory trade altogether.

The Minister of State of Environment and Forests while moving the amendment bill in the Lok Sabha adverted to the fact that the population of Indian elephants, particularly in South India, was under serious threat by ivory poachers. Although the trade in Indian ivory was banned in 1986, the trade in imported ivory was giving an opportunity to unscrupulous ivory traders to legalise poached ivory in the name of imported ivory. With this point in view, the trade in African ivory was proposed to be banned after giving due opportunity to ivory traders to dispose of their existing stocks. He also referred to the growing menace of poaching wild animals which had acquired serious dimensions because of exponential rise in the price of the wild animals and their products.

3. It also needs to be driven home that the beauty of ivory and things created therefrom should not be the reason for the destruction of its source. The elephant with the tusker stands out any day to ivory curios adorning the mantel pieces of a few who can afford to buy them at fabulous prices unmindful of the virtual disappearance of a remarkable animal. This is a very heavy price to pay for satiating the aesthetic sense of a few persons. Trade and business at the cost of disrupting life forms and linkages necessary for the preservation of bio-diversity and ecology cannot be permitted even once. We, therefore, reject the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners that there was no proximity between the elephants in the remote forests of India and the sales of imported ivory or articles made therefrom in the show rooms of the petitioners in the city. We also reject the submission that the functionaries of the Wild Life Department of the States could prevent illegal hunting of elephants and there was no good reason to ban the sale of imported ivory and articles made therefrom. The Parliament understanding the vastness of the problem and considering that it will be any difficult to prevent poaching of the Indian elephant, already on the verge of extinction, and the sale of Indian ivory under the guise of imported ivory without imposing the ban on trade in imported ivory cannot be faulted as the degree of harm in allowing the petitioners to continue with the ivory trade would have been much greater to the community as compared to the degree of harm to the individual interests of the petitioners by prohibiting the ivory trade. In the former case the petitioners would have benefited at the cost of the Society. Trade and property rights must yield to the collective good of the people.

4. Whether trade in ivory is pernicious and not covered by Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution:

The trade in ivory ! is dangerous, subversive and pernicious as it has the potential to deplete the elephant population and to ultimately extinguish the same. It is well settled that trade which is pernicious can be totally banned without attracting Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. There is a string of authority for the proposition that no citizen has any fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution to carry on trade in any noxious and dangerous goods like intoxicating drugs or intoxicating liquors. Trade and business in intoxicating drugs or liquors is only one of the noxious types of enterprises. This category does not close with drugs & intoxicating liquors. What was not considered harmful at an earlier point of time, may be discovered to be so later. Time has a way of changing norms. Several other activities being equally pernicious fall in this category too :-

1. Gambling,
2. Prostitution,
3. Dealing in counterfeit coins or currency
notes, etc.

Activities having a beneful effect on the ecology, human and animal life etc. occupy a central position in the above category.

5. Trading in animals close to being wiped out of existence and articles made from their bones, skins or other parts of their bodies, is a situation akin to dealing in any other noxious or pernicious trade, e.g., intoxicating drugs. While the Parliament can impose a ban on trading in endangered species of articles derived from them in furtherance of Art 48A, it can prohibit trade in intoxicating drugs and liquors in compliance with the mandate of Article 47. Courts have recognised that trade or business in intoxicating drug and liquor is not a fundamental right as it is dangerous and noxious. Similarly on parity of reasoning business in animal species on the verge of extinction being dangerous and pernicious is, therefore, not covered by Article 19(1)(g).

6. Such a pernicious activity cannot be taken to be as business or trade in the sense in which it is used in Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.

7. The destruction or depletion of the other form of life would create ecological imbalances endangering human life. No one can be given the privilege to endanger human life as that would violate Article 21 of the Constitution. Basically, it is extremely essential for the survival of man co-exist with nature and to preserve and protect wild life.

As already seen , the directive principles of State policy are based upon moral principles and considerations. The protection of wild life has seeds in the history of time, and in the history of moral and ethical principles evolved by every society through various ages. A society which does not have ethical and moral values and fails to live in harmony with nature whithers and perishes. The sooner this truth is realised the better it would be for the welfare of the people. It has come to us through countries to show compassion towards animals and birds as all are considered to have come from the same source.

8. Having regard to the above discussion we hold that:-
(1) no citizen has a fundamental right to trade
in ivory or ivory articles, whether indigenous or imported;
(2) assuming trade in ivory to be a fundamental right granted under Article 19(1)(g), the prohibition imposed thereon by the impugned Act is in public interest and in consonance with the moral claims embodied in Article 48A of the Constitution; and
(3) the ban on trade in importing ivory and articles made therefrom is not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and does not suffer from any of the maladies, namely, unreasonableness, unfairness and arbitrariness.
9. Having regard to the above decisions it is not necessary for the State to pay compensation to the petitioners for extinguishment of title of the petitioners in imported ivory or articles made therefrom. Since the State is not under any obligation to buy the stocks of the petitioners in acceptance of the one time sale proposition propounded by the petitioners, we cannot direct the State to either buy the same or pay compensation for it.

10. India actually banned the trade in Indian ivory in 1986. The traders should have disposed of their stocks of Indian ivory from 1975 to 1986. As regards the African elephant it was proposed on October 18, 1989 to be included in Appendix-I of the CITES and was so included on January 18, 1990. Ivory traders were allowed to carry on domestic trade in imported ivory till the expiry of six months from the coming into force of the Amendment Act of 1991. Furthermore, as result of interim stay granted by this Court the petitioners could dispose of their stocks by July 7, 1992. From the above it is clear that ivory traders were under a notice of the intending ban since 1989 and had sufficient time to dispose of their stocks of ivory in the domestic market. Though the statute gave six months time to the petitioners to liquidate the stocks from the specified date, the petitioners acutally being under the protection of the Court's order could trade upto 7th July, 1997. It is significant to note that the Parliament has merely made the possession of imported ivory and articles made therefrom after the specified date an offence. The petitioners are not being subjected to a penal law on account of their having imported ivory during the period when there was no ban in existence.

Appendix VI

Statement of a poacher from Orissa as given on 25.4.1997 after arrest
by the forest department

The following is a statement obtained from Menju Khan arrested by Athgarh Forest Division in a case of elephant poaching after three elephants were killed within 10 days in Athgarh Forest Division and Athmalik Forest Division in April 1997:

The following statement is given by I, Sri Izabul Khan alias Menju Khan aged years of Pankhal village , Thana: Tigiria, Dist: Cuttack, son of Musaf Khan on this date I have given this statement regarding my different types of skin business. Buying skins from the rural areas I sell them to various businessmen of the cities. During the past four years to five years I have bought about 25 to 30 pairs of elephants tusks from different elephant poachers. I have sold these tusks to Sri
Sona Ullah of Elliot Road, Calcutta. The tusks have been bought from the following poachers:

1) Satya Dehuri; 2) Shyam Nayak of Jemadeipur, Thana: Baramba;
2) 3) Sri Chandra Pradhan; 4) Sri Udei Prudhan both son of Pranabhandhu Prallu of Jemadeipur, Thana; Baramba; 5) Udei Nayak of Kalamatia Thana Baramba,
3) 6) Satya Durai of Balikiari , Thana; Narasingpur; 7) Sri Upendra Patu alies of Pankhal, Thana: Tigiria 9) Pabitra Jana, son of Mathura of Danamalipur , Tigiria. Last 24th day of March(Monday) I , Safiqudidin Khan, Gani Khan , of Pankal village, all three of us went by bus to Nakchi Chak under Handapa P.S and we got down there .Waiting for us there was Sri Kunjabehari Dehuri of Purushmala village of Handapa PS. All of us together with him went walking and reached the village around 1.00 or 2.00 AM. After some time Kunja came to us with two polythene bag
In each polythene bag there were four pieces of tusks each of one foot length . After seeing the tusks , Kunja wrapped both the polythene bags in one piece of gunny sack and handed it over to me. After that all of us I , my village people and Kunja returned to Pankal village. I myself weighed the eight pieces of tusks and found them to be of eighteen Kgs. weight. I paid Rs 54,000/- at at the rate of Rs. 3,000 per/Kg for the entire stock to Gani Khan. Then Gani Khan , Safiquddin Khan and Kanja distributed the money mutually amoungst them. On 1.4.97 I went along with the eight pieces of tusks to Calcutta and sold them to Sona Ullah for Rs. 70,000/- . After bringing this 70,000 I gave it to my colleagues as advance money for my skin business.

Last November , 1992 I had obtained conditional bail from the court of J.M.F.C ., Narsinghpur in an elephant poaching case. One of the conditions was that I had to present myself before the Range officer , Narsinghpur twice every week and honouring this condition I used to appear personally before the Range officer, Narsinghpur every week . Last October , 1996 another elephant case was filed against me in the court of the J.M.F.C. Narsinghpur. I have nothing more to say and have related the facts out of my own free will. I have read this deposition and as signing as correct. End.

ANNEXURES

Rates of conversion from Indian rupees to the US dollar

Sources : Statistical abstract US Bureau of Census, Washington DC; Midland Bank, UK

The effect of 1991 amendment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act is uphold by (this)/March 1997 judgement of the Hon. High Court of Delhi is that the state is required to take over the entire stock of imported ivory and carvings hold in stock by erstwhile dealers without payment of compensation.

Since the ivory dealers had not challenged the 1986 amendment, the domestic trade in Asian (Indian) ivory had been extinguished at that time itself.

It is likely that ivory traders will challenge the Delhi High Court judgement in the Supreme Court of India. There is legal opinion, however, that because the Delhi High Court judgement is a 'speaking', well-reasons judgement, the Supreme Court may not admit the appeal. It is to be recalled that when the Hon. High Court of Delhi had withdrawn their stay order in 1992, an appeal by ivory traders to the Supreme Court had been rejected.