In another blow to the DMK government, the Madras High Court on January 23 dismissed a writ appeal filed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests-cum-Chief Wildlife Warden against a single judge’s order directing the forest department to return three female elephants to the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.
Hearing an appeal by the Tamil Nadu state, the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan declined to entertain the appeal at the admission stage itself. The court wondered why the department was so keen not to give back the elephants to the Mutt even after six years. To that, the Additional Advocate General (AAG) replied that the health condition of the elephants was not conducive and relied upon the report of a medical examination conducted after the single judge’s order. The Division Bench questioned the forest department on how it could attempt to overreach court orders.
Since the Mutt had made adequate arrangements for the care of the elephants, the forest department could not refuse to return them. The Bench said there was no reason to interfere with the order of the single judge.
The Bench said the single judge had passed a reasoned order after considering all facts. It also agreed with counsel for Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, advocate V. R. Shanmuganathan, that it also appeared to be a consensual order since the judge had permitted government veterinarians to examine the elephants.
Disposing of a writ petition moved by the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan had, in January this year, said that the petitioner was a Hindu religious mutt which traces its spiritual lineage to Saint Adi Shankara and had been in existence for centuries.
In furtherance of its religious activities, the Mutt had acquired three elephants named Sandhya (50), Indu (30) and Jayanti (14), and obtained ownership certificates too from the PCCF-cum-CWC in accordance with the rules framed under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. After the acquisition, the Mutt had begun using the elephants for rituals and other connected activities.
In 2015, the elephants’ mahout died and hence the Mutt obtained the forest department’s permission to transport the animals to a private wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre.
On court orders, they were transferred to the forest department’s elephant care facility at M. R. Palayam in Tiruchi.
Since 2022, the Mutt had been making repeated requests to the forest department to give back the elephants as it had developed a 2.94-acre facility for them at Konerikuppam village in Kancheepuram district. It had also decided to appoint new mahouts to take care of them.
When its requests were not listened to, the Mutt was left with no option but to move court with a writ petition in 2025.
The court said, “After keeping the elephants in your custody for six years, you were still refusing to hand them over to the owner, citing some reason or the other. The problem is the state never wants to accept the orders of court even if such orders are passed on the basis of the consent of the state.”
It is to be noted that the single judge earlier this month had directed the authorities concerned of the government to hand over custody of the three elephants to the mutt within a week. The court said the elephants shall not be taken out of the facility at Konerikuppam till their health is restored. It had permitted the mutt to perform “Gaja pooja” and other rituals involving the elephants within the facility at Konerikuppam. However, the court permitted taking the pachyderms out only after they are given a clean bill of health by veterinary doctors.
