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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a notice on a plea filed by Pashmina shawl traders aggrieved by Customs and criminal prosecutions on the ground that their export consignments carry Shahtoosh ‘guard hair’ suspected to be from the Tibetan Antelope, an endangered species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad sought responses from various central government ministries, including the Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, the Wildlife Institute of India, Zoological Survey of India, Central Bureau of Investigation and Directorate of Enforcement, among others. The matter has been listed for February 14, 2023.
Three registered societies comprising exporters, manufacturers, traders, and artisans of Pashmina shawls moved the high court with their grievance against Customs and criminal prosecution initiated against them alleging that their export consignments carry articles suspected to be Shahtoosh, ‘guard hair’ from the Tibetan antelope.
The petition contends that the sole basis for these prosecutions are forensic reports issued by the forensic science laboratories using technologically obsolete methods [light microscopy], that “erroneously conclude” that various exporters’ consignments are positive for Shahtoosh ‘guard hair’. “Consequent to such forensic reports, the accused stakeholders are subjected to onerous customs proceedings, huge monetary losses, huge delays in release of seized shipments leading to loss of business, loss of reputation, mental harassment, and agony, as well as the initiation of multiple criminal proceedings and potential incarceration…,” the petition states.
The petition further points out that the use of morphological testing through light microscopy is recognised as outdated, technologically obsolete and highly prone to false positive results–both domestically and globally. “It is somewhat questionable that despite the near-unanimous opinion that morphological testing has run its course, both domestically and globally, it continues to be used in wildlife forensic testing for the purposes of initiating customs as well as criminal prosecutions,” the petition states.
The petition contends that the latest research has validated the use of DNA technologies for testing for Shahtoosh ‘guard hair’, wherein trace materials like ‘guard hair’ are used for the identification of the Tibetan Antelope from the woven Pashmina shawls. The petition has further sought for enhancing the existing forensic science laboratories engaged in analysing suspected Shahtoosh shawls.
Kashmir Pashmina is a fine type of wool which is obtained from breeds of mountain goats found in Tibet and parts of Ladakh and the trade of Pashmina shawls is completely legal, as stated in the petition. Shahtoosh shawls are made from the fine undercoat fibre obtained from the Tibetan Antelope (known locally as Chiru), an antelope species living mainly in the northern parts of the Changthang Plateau in Tibet. Due to their high smoothness and warmth, Shahtoosh shawls are a highly expensive and tradable commodity.
Due to concern about the survival of the species, the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora), established in 1973, included the Tibetan Antelope in 1979. Sale, purchase, and possession of Tibetan Antelope parts and products, including Shahtoosh, are strictly prohibited. The petition submits that many genuine consignments carrying Pashmina wool are erroneously identified as Shahtoosh, possession and sale of which is banned under the Wild Life Protection Act and CITES.
The petition states that some forms of Pashmina may appear similar to Shahtoosh but in reality are different materials emanating from different species of animal. Owing to the two materials having similar physical properties and tangibility, the differentiation thereof is near impossible without proper and advanced scientific forensic analysis methods.
The petition has sought that forensic laboratories engaged in wildlife forensics be set up incorporating modern scanning electron microscopy and DNA testing procedures instead of light microscopy.
Advocates Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Kartik Venu and Shikhar Sharma appeared for the petitioners.
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