The Supreme Court on Friday expanded the scope of a high-powered committee dealing with the transfer and transportation of elephants bred in captivity in the North-East, giving it a pan-India mandate to deal with any approval or grievance regarding the transfer, import into India, or procurement of wild animals by any rehabilitation centre or zoo in the country.
The order by a bench of justices Krishna Murari and Ahsanuddin Amanullah came on an application filed in the context of transporting elephants bred in captivity from Karnataka to Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust in Gujarat.
The trust told the court that the Tripura high court on November 7 constituted a high-powered committee (HPC) headed by former Supreme Court judge justice Deepak Verma (retd) while considering a plea on transporting elephants from the North-East to Gujarat. Besides the judge, the committee included the Centre’s director general of forests, head of the Union environment ministry’s Project Elephant Division, member secretary of the Central Zoo Authority of India, and the chief wildlife warden of Tripura and Gujarat.
Giving this committee a pan-India character, the bench allowed the committee to deal with “all requests for approval, dispute or grievance, concerning transfer or import into India or procurement or welfare of wild animals by any rescue or rehabilitation centre or zoo, by taking assistance and co-operation whenever needed from all departments and authorities across India.”
The bench said, “We deem it appropriate to extend the jurisdiction and scope of HPC as constituted by the High Court of Tripura, with the modification that the Chief Wild Life Warden(s) of the State(s) to which the issue relates will be the co-opted as Members of the said Committee in place of the Chief Wildlife Wardens of Tripura and Gujarat, throughout the territory of India, leaving it open to the committee to conduct necessary checks and to undertake a fact-finding exercise in any pending or future complaint in this regard.”
Extending the jurisdiction of the Committee across the country, the bench said, “By extending the jurisdiction of HPC at pan India level will not only serve the real public interest and would advance the cause of welfare, care and rehabilitation of wild animals, but will also curb the filing of frivolous PILs before different High Courts by busy bees.”
The court further directed that all complaints in this regard may be forwarded forthwith to the HPC for consideration and recommending appropriate action.
Further, the bench directed all state and central authorities to report seizure of wild animals or abandonment of captive wild animals to the committee. “The committee shall be at liberty to recommend transfer of ownership of captive animals or of seized wild animals to any willing rescue centre or zoo for their immediate welfare, care and rehabilitation,” the order said.
The committee’s chairman was allowed to determine the honorarium and the expenses for carrying out their daily functions. “We are of the considered opinion that the directions issued by us shall serve real public interest and would advance the cause of welfare, care and rehabilitation of wild animals,” the bench said.
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