KALPETTA: The High Court rejected the plea seeking cancellation of the order to shoot and kill the man-eater tiger that killed Prajeesh, a dairy farmer in Koodallur. On dismissing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Animal and Nature Ethics Community against the order of the Chief Wildlife Warden, the High Court imposed a fine of Rs.25,000. The court asked whether the PIL was filed for fame and how the loss of human life could be looked down upon.

"It is not clear which tiger was behind the attack. The animal should only be shot if it cannot be caught. The Chief Wildlife Warden's order on December 10 was without following any guidelines", the petition said.

The PIL was rejected by a bench consisting of Chief Justice Ashish K Desai and Justice VG Arun. The Chief Wildlife Warden's order was to shoot the man-eater tiger after identifying it if it could not be caught by setting up a cage or tranquillizing it.

The dead body of Prajeesh (36) was found in Marotti Thadam in Vakeri's Moodakkolli at around 3 pm on Saturday. The body was found half-eaten by the tiger in Narayanapuram near Moodakolli. The locals protested on finding the body and demanded compensation and the shooting of the man-eater tiger. After the order was issued to capture the tiger, the locals ended their protest.