The Supreme Court today expressed concern over the allegedly hurried inter-state transfer of captive elephants, including one that was transported nearly 3,000 km to Chennai within just nine days.
Hearing a petition filed by the NGO People for Cattle in India challenging the procedure followed for the transfer of captive elephants, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that all such transfers must strictly comply with statutory requirements and earlier directions.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for the petitioner, said the environmental law framework governing inter-state movement of elephants envisages several stages of verification, clearances and consultations, a process that ordinarily requires a minimum of around 50 days.
The senior lawyer pointed out that the transfer request in the present case was made on September 4, while the elephant reached Chennai by September 13, covering a distance of nearly 3,000 km in nine days.
Arora said it was not possible to complete all the verifications and procedural requirements prescribed under the rules within such a short period.
She also submitted that the high court had merely directed the authorities to decide the pending application and had not ordered the elephant's transportation within any specified time frame.
Seeking interim protection, the counsel contended that the haste with which the clearances were granted raised serious questions about compliance with the statutory scheme.
The bench, however, observed that all the elephants in question had already been transferred and indicated that their return could not be ordered at this stage.
“If it was a hasty exercise and it was brought to our notice, we would have interdicted it,” the CJI said, referring to earlier interventions by the top court concerning captive elephants.
The Court had consistently insisted on verification of their identity and ownership, besides proper regulation of their transportation and treatment, the CJI said.
Referring to its earlier directions, the bench noted that the court had been concerned about the issue since around 2021 and had restrained the capture of wild elephants.
The senior lawyer sought permission to withdraw the petition with liberty to move an appropriate application in the ongoing proceedings, which the bench permitted.
With PTI Inputs