Man accused of ferrying cattle to illegal abattoir gets bail

Poverty cannot be an embargo to deny liberty to an individual, the Bombay High Court said on Thursday, while granting bail to a person who did not have permanent residence in the city. Mujammil Muddi Ali Shaikh was accused of ferrying a buffalo with an intention of selling it to an illegal abattoir.

Justice Sadhana Jadhav allowed Shaikh's bail application on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and directed him to appear before the police station every Sunday, until the trial court frames charges in his case. Further, the court also directed him to provide his contact details to the investigating officer and asked the trial court to issue a warrant against him, if he is not present before the court on the two dates.

According to the prosecution, Shaikh's brother was driving the vehicle that was carrying a sedated bull. One Chetan Sharma, who spotted the truck and even followed it, also complained to the Taloja police. While the police managed to apprehend the vehicle, Shaikh and his brother fled from the spot. They were later arrested.

Appearing for the accused, advocate Kuldeep Patil said he has been charged under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act,1995 where the maximum punishment is five years and minimum is six months. The accused has been behind bars for eight months and chargesheet in the case has been. Thus, he should be released on bail, Patil said.

The prosecution and the complainant, however, claimed that the accused has been involved in many such cases and does not have a permanent place of residence. To which the court replied, "The applicant cannot be denied liberty only on the ground that he does not have permanent residence in Mumbai. Poverty cannot be construed as an embargo to deny liberty to an individual. Care can be taken by the court to see that the applicant is available for the purpose of trial."