Appeal against the High Court’s decision to free the kidnappers of the Leopard Cubs

We realized that the single bench has shown unconditional bias in favor of the abductors in the leopard cubs kidnapping case. We were only concerned with preventing the leopard from being shot to death in the petition “Get node to shoot the mother leopard if needed.” Several such incidents occurred in Kerala in the past. Due to the submission’s haste, many important contents—including the video footage of the kidnapping—could not be included.

Although we produced the original abduction video, the division bench stated that we could not submit evidence for the violation. The judge upheld the single bench’s statement that the circumstances on the ground justified the officers’ decision to remove the cubs.

The division bench also disregarded our request for details on the individuals responsible for abducting the cubs seen in the video footage.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was a respondent in this petition; however, the court did not request their counter affidavit. The NTCA’s guidelines concerning field actions for addressing issues with stray wild carnivores, such as tigers or leopards, outlined the appropriate measures to take in response to public protests during such incidents. In such situations, it was specified that a curfew should be enacted and that the cubs would need to be safeguarded in the same location, but the judge overlooked this aspect.

The actions of the division bench judges clearly indicate an intentional effort to shield the abductors, revealing significant corruption within the High Court of Kerala.