CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has barred the state forest department from engaging NGOs for treating elephants under its care. The order was passed by a special bench, comprising justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, dealing with forest-related cases, on a petition filed by S Muralidharan, an animal welfare activist. The petition had sought the court to issue directions to the respondent department to cancel the permission granted to Wildlife SOS, an NGO, for operating mobile veterinary clinic in the state.
“There shall be a direction to the respondent not to engage any NGOs in treating the elephants in their custody,” the bench said in the order passed recently.
The petitioner had also prayed for directions to the forest department to strengthen its own state-of-the-art veterinary infrastructure and specialised mobile treatment facilities for providing healthcare to captive elephants. The authorities granting permission to NGOs for treating captive elephants shall have to satisfy themselves on the statutory requirements and the legal criteria on eligibility of the particular organisation before granting such permission, he said.
Meanwhile, the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan refused to issue orders for granting retirement to a temple elephant, Abhayambigai, belonging to Mayurnathaswamy temple in Mayiladuthurai.
The bench had recently dismissed a PIL filed by Alok Aswani Gupta, who prayed for issuing orders to give compassionate retirement and rehabilitation to the elephant which has been under the captive care of the temple for about 50 years. The petitioner, an animal rights activist, alleged that the elephant was being kept in unhealthy conditions without sufficient care and proper facilities.