Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 15, 2022 at 15:50 IST
The Karnataka High Court in its order held , “There is no need for formal documentation for a privately owned elephant, especially which is in need of rescue or adoption and said that the law does not require any documentation”.
“According to us, any document with any nomenclature is sufficient as long as it shows consent and absence of commercial transaction,” the Court said.
On June 6, a Court order was issued in a public interest lawsuit requesting court involvement in the case of the transfer of several elephants from the state of Karnataka to the Gujarat-based Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust.
The Petitioner also asked the State Government to adopt guidelines stating that no one from the State of Karnataka can sell, transfer, or translocate elephants to the Trust.
The Court gave many directions to the trust in its order, including that the elephants in the Trust’s custody and care be continued to be afforded the same care and facilities as detailed in the Counter filed in these proceedings until the end of their respective lives.
If any more Elephants are transported to the trust facility, they will get the same level of care and facilities for the remainder of their lives.
The trust shall not enter into any commercial transaction referred to in Section 43 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, said the court.
The animals that are moved or translocated, according to the petitioner, must be sterilized. There is a considerable fear that these creatures will be used for commercial purposes, and that the Trust will mistreat these animals by building a breeding center.
It was contended that there is no prohibition or restriction on the Trust carrying out the non-profit activity of taking care of the rescued Elephants.
It is also contended that Respondent is not involved in any commercial activity with these animals.
It was also contended that Trust is not having any breeding centers for these animals. The Trust is only concerned with the care and rehabilitation of Elephants and other animals.