Kerala - Kochi   

Curbs on Forest Department

KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday restrained the Forest Department from taking into possession an elephant offered by Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to the Rajarajeswari Temple at Thaliparamaba in Kannur until further orders.

The Bench comprising Justice P.R. Raman and Justice T.R. Ramachandran Nair passed the interim directive on a writ petition filed by P.E. Narayanan Namboodiri, president, Thaliparamba Trichambaram Kanhirangad Devaswom.

The temple is managed by the Devaswom. The petition was field as he apprehended that the forest officials would take into their custody the elephant on grounds that the Devaswom did not have any ownership certificate. The elephant was given by B.R. Sasidharan of Kochi for the offer. The Chief Minister offered the elephant on November 5 when he visited the temple.

The petitioner contended that Mr. Sasidharan had made a request to the Chief Wildlife Warden to give permission to receive the elephant in August 27, 2008.

He had again approached the Forest Department on September 8. He had submitted all the details about the elephant in the application. The department was yet to take action on the application. The Devaswom was now keeping the elephants in its custody.

Though the Devaswom also sought permission for keeping the elephant in its custody, no action was taken on its request.

The petitioner said the High Court had earlier observed in another case that elephants offered to the temples need not be treated as captive elephants and that offerings could not be considered as sale.

Therefore, no permission was required.

However, the Forest Department was contemplating criminal action against the Devaswom. Hence the writ petition.

The contention of the Forest Department was that the Devaswom did not have in possession any ownership certificate or other details of the elephant.

Mr. Sasidharan got the elephant as a gift from one Mukesh Kumar Dwivedi. He was not entitled to accept the gift without proper approval of the Chief Wildlife Warden. Besides, the Devaswom did not have any facilities for keeping elephants on its premises.

Elephants were often brought from the north-eastern States through the States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar without any documents. The elephant offered at the temple was bought from Assam.

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