The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has given a clean chit to Vantara, the zoological rescue and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, amid allegations of irregularities in its functioning.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and P B Varale took on record the SIT’s report, which was submitted last Friday and placed before the court on Monday. The bench noted that the authorities had expressed satisfaction over compliance and regulatory measures at Vantara. The court said it would pass a detailed order later in the day after going through the report.
The SIT was constituted on August 25 to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into allegations of non-compliance with statutory norms and questionable acquisition of animals, particularly elephants, from India and abroad. The four-member panel was headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
The inquiry followed two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed on the basis of media reports, social media content, and complaints from NGOs and wildlife organisations. Petitioners had sought scrutiny of Vantara’s operations, claiming violations of wildlife protection laws.
Earlier, on August 14, the apex court had dismissed a plea by petitioner C R Jaya Sukin, who had sought the constitution of a monitoring committee to return captive elephants from Vantara to their alleged owners. The court had described that plea as “completely vague.”
