Bhubaneswar: To curb illegal wildlife trade and enhance the protection of wild animals, Odisha will designate judicial magistrates as special courts across all districts to handle wildlife-related cases. This move follows a directive from the Orissa High Court.
In a letter to the Principal Secretary of the state’s Law Department, the High Court’s Special Officer indicated that courts of Chief Judicial Magistrates (CJM) and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrates (ACJM) in each district will act as the special courts.
The exception is Sundargarh district, where the CJM in Sundargarh and ACJM in Rourkela will serve as special courts for wildlife cases.
The Law Department has been instructed to coordinate with the government for the issuance of a formal notification to implement this initiative.
