The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed as “completely vague” a petition seeking the constitution of a monitoring committee to ensure the return of captive elephants housed at Vantara, a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre in Gujarat.
A Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and P B Varale told petitioner-in-person, advocate C R Jaya Sukin, that he could not level allegations against Vantara without making it a party to the proceedings. “You are making allegations against parties which are not represented here. You have not made them respondents. You implead them and then come back to us, we will see,” the court observed, adjourning the matter to August 25.
The apex court also tagged a similar petition to Sukin’s plea, which had earlier been mentioned for urgent listing before Chief Justice of India B R Gavai.
The plea alleges that laws and rules were violated in transferring captive elephants to Vantara, claiming that state administrations failed in their duties, with some officials “compromised” or “threatened.” It contends that elephants were forcibly taken from temples and private owners, and that other wild animals and birds — including endangered species — were “smuggled” into Vantara under the guise of rescue and rehabilitation.
Seeking the return of the elephants to their original owners and the release of all wild animals and birds into their natural habitats, the petitioner has also called for a court-monitored oversight mechanism to investigate the facility’s operations.
