The Madras High Court directed the State authorities to take a decision upon ensuring all the temples in TamilNadu and Puducherry house their elephants in large enclosures surrounded by natural settings.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking directions against the respondents to ensure that all the temples in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry house their elephants in large enclosures surrounded by natural settings, having a water pool and wherever possible to house the elephants of the nearby temples in the same enclosure and provide the female elephants the company of the male elephants from any of the elephant camps maintained by the Forest Department.
The State of Tamil Nadu has placed on record the guidelines dated 24.11.2022.
S.Raveekumar, Government Pleader (Puducherry) submitted that the Union Territory of Puducherry is following the guidelines issued by the Central Government and implementing the same.
A committee was constituted to frame the guidelines. The guidelines are in place. The State authorities are bound to implement the said guidelines in its true letter and spirit.
The petitioner, appearing in person, submits that he has given objection with regard to the said guidelines.
The Court directed that the respondent State may consider the said objection given by the petitioner in a holistic manner and take a decision upon it, preferably within three months and depending upon the decision taken by the State authorities with regard to the objection raised by the petitioner to the guidelines, the parties may take further steps.
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