Madras high court
Recording the submissions and considering the fact that the festival season has commenced, the court directed the state to decide in one week on the applications seeking permission to bring elephants to the remaining four temples and adjourned the hearing to Sept 16.
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu forest department cannot prevent persons from other states who wanted to donate animals, particularly elephants, to temples in the state, Madras high court has said. “How can you (forest department) prevent it?” the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan wondered on Monday. Elephants are used in temple festivals, including consecration ceremonies and Brahmotsavams, according to the petitioner.
The bench then directed the state govt to take a decision in one week on granting permission to bring elephants from Assam that are donated to four temples in the state, including the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Recently, the court set aside a single judge order that prohibited any future acquisition of elephants by temples and private individuals in Tamil Nadu on the ground that the Wildlife Protection Act and rules permit such acquisition. The issue pertains to a plea moved by Chennai-based Seva Trust. The petitioner wanted the court to direct the state to formulate guidelines to avoid delays in granting permission for the use of elephants during such events.
On Monday, when the plea came up for hearing, the petitioner submitted that it has been proposed to bring elephants from Assam to be donated to Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Kancheepuram mutt, Vaitheeswaran Temple in Mayiladuthurai and Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram.