New Delhi, August 14
The Supreme Court on Thursday came down strongly on two separate petitions relating to the operations of Vantara and the controversial transfer of the Kolhapur temple elephant Mahadevi, terming them “vague” but granting the petitioners an opportunity to amend their pleadings. The apex court has listed both matters for a final hearing on August 25, 2025.
A bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B. Varale was hearing:
1. W.P.(C) No. 783/2025 – C.R. Jaya Sukin v. Union of India & Ors. – seeking investigations into alleged illegalities at Vantara and its parent trust.
2. W.P.(C) No. 779/2025 – Dev Sharma v. Union of India – challenging the transfer of elephant Mahadevi from a Kolhapur shrine to Jamnagar.
First Petition – Alleged Illegalities in Vantara’s Operations
The first writ petition calls for:
• Constitution of a monitoring committee to investigate alleged violations at Vantara.
• Return of all captive elephants to their original owners.
• Rescue and release of all wild animals and birds in Vantara back into their natural habitats.
• A declaration that the High-Power Committee constituted by the Tripura High Court is unconstitutional.
The petition also seeks scrutiny of:
• Wildlife imports since 2020 by Vantara and the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust.
• Verification of CITES permits and gene bank claims.
• Legitimacy of breeders and source country clearances.
• Compliance with the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and India’s international obligations under CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Pending the probe, the petitioner demands a moratorium on further imports of exotic/endangered species, a freeze on animal transfers, and a halt to any physical expansion of the facilities without proper environmental and biodiversity clearances.
It further asks for full disclosure of records including import permits, quarantine protocols, environmental impact assessments, species inventories, and recognition documents from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
Justice Mithal noted that the petitioner had made serious allegations against parties who were neither present nor impleaded in the case. “You implead them and then come back to us, we will see,” he remarked.
The Court allowed the petitioner to add the Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation and Conservation Centre (Vantara) as a respondent and file the amended cause title within five days, with copies served to all respondents.
Calling the plea “completely vague”, Justice Mithal also questioned why the petitioner had approached the Supreme Court directly under Article 32 without exhausting remedies before relevant authorities.
Second Petition – Elephant Mahadevi’s Transfer
The second petition, where Vantara has already been impleaded, focuses on the transfer of the elephant Mahadevi — also known as Madhuri — from the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswamy Sanstha in Nandani village, Kolhapur, to the Jamnagar facility.
Justice Mithal asked if the petitioner had first approached the CZA, noting that the plea contained incomplete facts and grounds. He stressed:
“When you file a petition you should be fully prepared… be careful that you are here under Article 32.”
When counsel referred to media reports, the bench suggested that such material could be part of a representation to the proper authority, but cautioned against filing “vague petitions” with unclear reliefs.
The petitioner also flagged the absence of a regulator for the gene bank, calling it a legal vacuum.
The Court granted one week for amending the writ petition and tagged it with the earlier matter for a combined hearing on August 25.
Mahadevi had been in the care of the Kolhapur Jain shrine for over 30 years. In July 2025, the Bombay High Court dismissed the shrine’s challenge to the High-Power Committee’s recommendation for her transfer, citing veterinary records that showed poor health and prioritising the elephant’s welfare over the shrine’s religious activities.
On July 28, a Supreme Court bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision, ordering the transfer to be completed at the earliest with safety measures during transport.
The move sparked widespread protests in Kolhapur, prompting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to announce that the shrine would file a review petition in the Supreme Court — with state government backing — to bring the elephant back.
Next Hearing: August 25, 2025 – Both petitions to be heard together after amendments.
