The Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Jawali, on Saturday convicted three persons, namely Halku Ram, Surjeet Singh and Nanak Chand of Mandi district, in a case of theft and illegally transporting forest herbs. According to Assistant District Attorney (ADA), Jawali, Ravi Kumar, Judicial Magistrate Shashi Kant sentenced the convicts to one year’s simple imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000. In the event of non-payment of fine, the convicts would have to undergo additional simple imprisonment of one month.
Besides, the court sentenced the trio to three months’ simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 under Sections 41, 42 of the Indian Forest Act-1927 for transporting medicinal herbs without a valid permit or the permission of the Forest Department.
Ravi Kumar said that the police had stopped a truck (HP 65A-9011) near Kotla on June 10, 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic and recovered a huge quantity of forest herbs of different species of medicinal plants being transported illegally in 220 bags without a permit or the requisite permission of the Forest Department.
