The Madras High Court has decided to take a call on Monday on the fate of three female elephants which were shifted from Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in Kancheepuram to an elephant care facility at Marakkanam by Chennai based Tree Foundation India and Bangalore based Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.
A Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad would be deciding a public interest litigation petition filed by animal lover S. Muralidharan who accused the two non-governmental organisations of forcibly shifting the three elephants from the Mutt despite not having proper facilities to maintain them.
However, filing a detailed counter affidavit, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests told the court that Indian elephants were protected under Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 and that it was mandatory for private individuals to obtain certificate of ownership from the Chief Wildlife Warden after proving availability of facilities for proper upkeep.
Accordingly, ownership certificates were issued to Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in 1999 for housing the female elephant Sandhya and in 2011 for the other two-Indu and Jayanthi.
On September 19, 2015, Sankaracharya of the Kamakoti Peetam sought permission to shift all three animals either to Mallur in Karnataka or Marakkanam for specialised medical treatment.