S.MURALIDHARAN Vs. PRINCIPAL CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed as a Public Interest Litigation. The petitioner claims that he is an avid animal lover and dedicated himself for the cause of animals and he carries out lot of activities for protection and conservation of wild as well as domestic animals. The petitioner would further state that he is also running a registered organization called "INCARE" and through which, he carries on some animal welfare activities, the details of which, extracted below, have been given in Paragraph No.1 of the affidavit filed in support of this writ petition:

(2.) The petitioner would further aver that the fourth respondent, namely, Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Kancheepuram had possessed 3 female elephants viz., (1) Sandhya, (2) Jayanthi and (3) Indumathi and the said elephants were maintained by them for conducting of rites and rituals. The fifth respondent, namely Tree Foundation India, Chennai-600 115, along with the sixth respondent namely, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Bannerghatta, Bangalore-560 076, claiming themselves to be Animal Welfare Organizations, had approached the fourth respondent and coerced them to part with the said three elephants on the pretext of cruelty and rehabilitation therefor. According to the petitioner, the objective of the respondents 5 and 6 is not to eradicate cruelty to animals, but to target Indian culture, customs and destroy elephants.

(3.) It is also the stand of the petitioner that the respondents 5 and 6 do not have any expertise in up-keep / maintenance of elephants and with their limited knowledge and ill intentions, they cannot add any value to the life of elephants and also spread lies, the details of which, extracted below, have been enumerated in Paragraph No.6 of the affidavit filed in support of this writ petition: