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2015 (3) TMI 1134 - SC - Indian LawsImport of prohibited goods - The first respondent herein wanted to import into India a trophy of one stuffed leopard which he shot in Zambia. Leopard is a protected and prohibited species under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and also under the Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Therefore, requisite permission under the aforesaid provisions is needed to import such a trophy. Held that:- What flows from the conjoint reading from the aforesaid provisions is that before import of any specimen of species included in Appendix I, prior import permit of Scientific Authority and Management Authority is required and before such a permit is given, the opinion of Scientific Authority as well as the Management Authority on particular aspects is required. Insofar as the Scientific Authority is concerned, it would look into the matter from two angles, namely, that the import is not detrimental to the survival of the species involved and further the proposed recipient is suitably equipped of house and care for it. Insofar as the Management Authority is concerned, it is to satisfy itself that the specimen is not to be used for primary commercial purposes. The High Court while observing that the only function of the Management Authority was to ensure that ‘specimen’ is not to be used for commercial purpose looked into the function of Management Authority alone. Error is committed by glossing over the function of the Scientific Authority. This resulted in passing the impugned directions which are clearly erroneous. The judgment of the High Court, therefore, is not sustainable. We may record at this stage that after the High Court had pronounced the judgment, respondent No. 1 got the aforesaid item cleared from the Customs and is in possession thereof as of now. In such circumstances, we are of the opinion that appropriate course of action would be to permit respondent No. 1 to apply to the Scientific Authority for necessary permission in the light of the observations made hereinabove.
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