The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made this observation while slamming the HR&CE Department as a den of vice despite being in control of such holy places. The bench also criticised politicians of being worried about hoarding money with no regard for animals.

“There are two aspects to the present matter. The first is the treatment of the elephants in captivity, particularly in several temples in the State. The second aspect pertains to the desirable prohibition of the wonderful animal being domesticated or used as a beast of burden any further.”

Noting that there was room for a lot of improvement in the HR & CE Department, not the least in how it deals with temple properties and assets. For the moment, the Chief Justice held, “the court appeals to the relevant authorities to at least ensure that the elephants held in captivity by the various temples are treated in a humane and dignified manner, are provided sufficient food, water and shelter from the heat and not otherwise beaten or mistreated in any manner or form.”

Accounting for the petitioner’s submission that the elephants in captivity should be treated in accordance with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2001, the bench said, “Since such provisions have been put in place under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it is necessary that the State, through officials of the Forest Department, in conjunction with officials of the HR&CE Department, reports on the compliance of such rules at every temple site with any captive elephant.”

Seeking to file the report along with comprehensive plan for which the State submitted that the Forest Department had made some recommendations, the court said, “Since it appears that the State is still in the throes of election frenzy, let these matter appear a week after the vacation, for a detailed programme as sought by the earlier orders.”

Also, on the aspect of the two elephants – Andal and Lakshmi – in Srirangam temple in Tiruchy languishing without a mahout, the CJ said: “The State does not admit the position, but it has to be immediately looked into whether the two elephants are interacting with any person who is attending to them, since elephants are known to be attached to individuals and even emotional to some extent.”