Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the punishment for an offence relating to an animal listed in Schedule I is imprisonment for a term of:
- A.Not less than one year, extending to three years
- B.Not less than three years, extending to seven years
- C.Up to six months only
- D.Not less than seven years, extending to fourteen years
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, not less than three years, extending to seven years. Section 51 of the Act prescribes this enhanced punishment, along with a fine, for offences against animals given the highest protection, and the amendment of 2022 raised the monetary penalties further. Option A is wrong because a term of one to three years is not the scale fixed for Schedule I offences; general offences under the Act attract imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine, or both. Option C is wrong because a maximum of six months would make the law toothless against organised poaching, which is exactly what the Act was passed to stop. Option D is wrong because fourteen years is the kind of term found in the Indian Penal Code for grave offences, not in this Act. Remember the figures three and seven.
Read the full article: Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedules and Provisions
Practice Questions
View allThe Wild Life (Protection) Act, which banned hunting and gave legal status to national parks and sanctuaries in India, was enacted in which year?
- A.1972
- B.1980
- C.1986
- D.1991
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The Wild Life (Protection) Act received the assent of the President on 9 September 1972 and remains the principal wildlife law of the country, covering hunting, protected areas, trade in animal articles and the schedules of protected species.
Read the full explanation →After the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, how many schedules does the Act contain?
- A.Three
- B.Four
- C.Five
- D.Six
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The amendment of 2022 rationalised the schedules of the parent Act: Schedule I now lists animals given the highest protection, Schedule II lists animals with a lesser degree of protection, Schedule III lists specified plants and Schedule IV lists specimens figuring in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade…
Read the full explanation →Under the schedules as restructured in 2022, specified plants are protected under which schedule of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972?
- A.Schedule I
- B.Schedule II
- C.Schedule III
- D.Schedule IV
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In the restructured Act the plant schedule moved from the old Schedule VI to the new Schedule III, and it still protects a short list of species such as the blue vanda, the pitcher plant and other threatened orchids and cycads, whose uprooting and trade are controlled.
Read the full explanation →A national park is declared under which section of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972?
- A.Section 18
- B.Section 29
- C.Section 35
- D.Section 38V
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Section 35 empowers the State Government to declare an area of adequate ecological or zoological importance as a national park, where no grazing is permitted and no rights of any person are allowed to continue.
Read the full explanation →Who is the chairperson of the National Board for Wild Life?
- A.The President of India
- B.The Prime Minister of India
- C.The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- D.The Chief Wild Life Warden
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The National Board for Wild Life was created by the amendment of 2002 under Section 5A of the Act as the apex advisory body on wildlife, and the Prime Minister chairs it.
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