Sri Lanka’s first-ever elephant trafficking case Ali Roshan behind bars for 15 years for keeping calf

• HC rejects defence’s claim that only tuskers  require registration

By Bhagya Silva  

Niraj Roshan alias Ali Roshan was yesterday convicted by a  three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar on two charges  of keeping in his possession, without valid permits, a baby elephant  named ‘Sigithi’ and was sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment,  with a fine of Rs. 20.6 million.  

The Bench also ordered the Director General of Wildlife Conservation to take steps to vest the said elephant in the State.  

The High Court rejected the defence claim that only tuskers  require registration, ruling that the Fauna and Flora Protection  Ordinance mandates a permit to keep any elephant, regardless of Gazette  notifications.  

Delivering judgement, Judge Manjula Thilakaratne stated, “Under Section 22(a) (12) of the Fauna and Flora Protection  Ordinance, the elephant taken into custody in this case is to be  regarded as one unlawfully captured and unlawfully kept in the  possession of the accused. Under that law, such an elephant is deemed  public property. It has been clearly established in this case that the  elephant was in the possession of the accused. In his dock statement, too, the accused admitted that the elephant was in his custody.  Accordingly, it has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the  elephant was kept by the accused.”  

The High Court observed that the unlawful capture of elephants  poses a serious threat to conservation, stressing that protecting the  country’s environment is a public responsibility. Noting that the  accused’s offence was a grave crime rather than a mere statutory  violation, the Court was informed that the elephant in question was  valued at Rs. 6.8 million.  

Accordingly, the Trial-at-Bar imposed the following  sentence, under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, five years of  rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 200,000 and under the Public  Property Act, 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 20.4  million. Both punishments were ordered to run concurrently, resulting in  an effective sentence of 15 years.  Appearing for the prosecution, Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara submitted, “My Lords, this case can be considered a very important  case relating to wildlife trafficking. Every crime has a victim.

But in  crimes of this nature, the victims are the wild animals themselves.  Unfortunately, they cannot come before Court to complain nor can they  testify. They cannot express the suffering caused by such unlawful acts.  This is the first case being spoken of in relation to elephant  trafficking. Behind this trafficking are powerful individuals such as  politicians, government officials, monks, and judicial officers.

All of  them together have engaged in this racket,” he said.   

Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara noted that the  accused had unlawfully captured and kept an elephant without a permit,  in violation of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. The Court  observed that the accused admitted the act in his dock statement,  stressing that the elephant had become a victim and justice must be  served.  

“This accused went into the jungle, captured an elephant  unlawfully and without obtaining such a permit, and kept it in his  possession. In his own dock statement, he admitted this before Court. As a  result of this act, the elephant has become a victim. Justice must be  served to that victim,” DSG said.  

Appearing for the accused, President’s Counsel Anuja  Premaratne pleaded for leniency on the grounds that the accused had  faced trial for a prolonged period.  

Three other accused were acquitted and discharged as the  prosecution had failed to prove the charges of unlawful possession of  stolen elephants and conspiracy against them.  

Delivering judgement, Judge R.S.S. Sapuvida, a member of the  three-judge bench, observed that the prosecution had failed to prove  beyond a reasonable doubt the charges against the accused of conspiring to  fraudulently traffic elephants stolen during the period 2009 to 2015  from the areas of Maharagama, Athurugiriya, Nawala, Battaramulla, and  Oruwala.  

The Court emphasised that determining the age of the  elephants was essential to establish whether the animals examined  physically were the same as those named in the permits.  

To prove this, the prosecution presented testimony from  three veterinary experts, including a fish specialist and a goat  reproduction expert. After examining their qualifications and  experience, the Court concluded that they did not possess sufficient  expertise to determine the age of elephants. Consequently, their  testimony was deemed inadmissible. Therefore, all the accused are  acquitted and discharged from the said charges.  

This case was heard before a three-judge bench of the  Colombo High Court comprising Judges Manjula Thilakaratne, Lanka  Jayaratne and R.S.S. Sapuvida.