Justice GR Swaminathan Directs State To Shift Elephants In Captivity To Rehab Camps

The Madras High Court recently ordered the Tamil Nadu government to implement its 2020 order prohibiting temples and private individuals from acquiring or owning elephants. Aside from that, Justice GR Swaminathan noted that the State needed to consult all stakeholders and decide whether elephants in the custody of temples, religious bodies, or private individuals should be relocated.

During his visit to the elephant on February 26 this year, Justice Swaminathan noted that she had several physical injuries and was in poor health. As a result of the visit, the Court issued instructions regarding the medical and dietary care to be provided to Lalitha, a 60-year-old elephant.

Animal rights activists filed a petition with the Court claiming that Lalitha, whose custody case had been decided by it in 2020, needed medical attention.

In his latest order, the court said that despite the fact that Lalitha had been bought by another person, Justice Swaminathan implemented child custody laws in 2020 and handed her over to her previous owner. 

Therefore, he called upon Dr. Kalaivanan of the Animal Husbandry Department at Madurai to tend to Lalitha's medical needs until she recovered fully. The Court further ordered that she must be transferred to a government rehabilitation camp for lifelong care and custody.

Lalitha was also confined to the Muthumariamman Temple in the Virudhunagar district, where she was subjected to loud devotional music. According to the letter, Lalitha was being disrupted by the loud noise.

It added that the state government should consider rehabilitating all elephants owned by temples and individuals because it was everyone's duty to protect wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

To consider moving captive elephants to government rehabilitation camps, Justice Swaminathan directed the Department of Environment and Forest to coordinate with the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments. 

The Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that a uniform policy must be implemented to ban individual and temple ownership of elephants and place them under the care of the Forest Department.