NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to issue guidelines and coordinate with states for establishing specialised clinics to which owners of captive elephants will take the animals for periodic health check-ups.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued the directives while considering a 2014 PIL concerning captivity, trafficking, treatment and rehabilitation of elephants across India.
The bench said the clinics must have specialised facilities for diagnosis and treatment of elephants, given their unique medical needs. “Captive elephants require specialised veterinary care. A proper mechanism needs to be put in place to monitor their health,” the bench said.
The direction came as part of the court’s efforts to ensure welfare of captive elephants. The Centre has been asked to work with the state governments to identify locations and set up the required infrastructure. The bench directed that a medical record be maintained for every captive elephant. The court will monitor compliance in subsequent hearings.
Hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, the bench said the court will not delve into religious rights behind the use of captive elephants in temples. “We are not going into whether a temple can possess an elephant. We are not going into any personal rights or religious rights. What we need to do is harmoniously deal with religious rights and the other laws operating in the field,” it said.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, placed on record a February 25 office memorandum on the proceedings of the Captive Elephants Healthcare and Welfare Committee (CEHWC), which pointed out that the number of captive elephants in the country has increased to 2,725.
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