The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) to take possession of a 34-year-old captive female elephant named Malachi from the custody of a woman in Madurai forthwith and transfer the pachyderm either to a zoo or one of the elephant camps run by the State Forest Department.
A Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad passed the order while allowing a Public Interest Litigation petition filed by Chennai-based S. Muralidharan and held that there was material to substantiate the allegation of the elephant having been ill-treated and used for begging by R. Indira, wife of a mahout.