Delhi Court grants bail to man caught with 840 endangered radiated tortoises in Thailand

A Delhi court recently granted bail to a man held at Thailand Airport carrying 840 radiated tortoises [Union of India v Murugesan Manivannan]..The radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) are critically endangered species featuring in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list. These tortoises are native to Madagascar and their trafficking has reached an industrial scale in the last few years. The order for bail was passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), Patiala House Court, Akash Jain. .The accused, Murugesan Manivannan, was caught with these tortoises in August 2012 at the Thailand Airport and released during investigation. Thereafter, he fled Thailand and came to India. In April 2014, a provincial court in Thailand issued an arrest warrant against him and a request was made by the Government of Thailand to Government of India to extradite him..Manivannan's counsel informed the Court that he was regularly appearing before the Thailand court from 2014-2017 but could not take part in the proceedings thereafter because he was arrested in Madhya Pradesh and convicted in a criminal case on 19 July, 2021.It was only in November, 2021 that he was acquitted on appeal, Kumar told the court.It was contended that the offence he has been charged with is not punishable under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act or any other Indian law and if he is released on bail he will join the proceedings. .Appearing for Centre, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), Rekha Pandey however argued that a red-corner notice has already been issued against him and he failed to join the proceedings in Thailand on his own. Further, the court was told, the accused has to be mandatorily extradited to Thailand. The SPP added that his acquittal is under challenge before the Madhya Pradesh High Court and therefore he must not be granted bail as he may try to flee the country. .The court however granted him bail on furnishing of bail bond in the sum of ₹1,00,000 along with one surety of like amount subject to following conditions. The Judge added that he should deposit his passport with the authorities and not leave the country without permission of the court. Manivannan was also directed to mark his attendance before local police authorities on the first day of every month. Advocates M Gireesh Kumar and Sriram Parakkat appeared for the accused..[Read Order]