New Delhi, Sep 25 - The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) Friday said it was 'dismayed' that the Supreme Court had suspended notorious wildlife criminal Sansar Chand's jail sentence and ordered that he be 'enlarged on bail to the satisfaction of the trial court'.
'We are dismayed by this news,' said Belinda Wright, WPSI's executive director, in a statement.
'His imminent release from prison in Jaipur, coupled with the dismal track record of convictions in wildlife cases, will only hasten the demise of the tiger,' she stressed.
The Supreme Court by an order dated Aug 24 suspended notorious wildlife criminal Sansar Chand's jail sentence and ordered that he be 'enlarged on bail to the satisfaction of the trial court', WPSI added in the statement.
The petition, WPSI said, sought the permission of the Supreme Court to appeal against the Rajasthan High Court's judgment of December 2008, which had confirmed the earlier judgment of the trial court.
In April 2004, a trial court in Ajmer had found Sansar Chand guilty of offences under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, and had sentenced him to five years imprisonment.