The Supreme Court on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team to look into the functioning of Vantara, the animal rescue centre run by Reliance Foundation in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, Live Law reported.
The SIT will investigate whether the centre complies with the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act and zoo rules, and statutes governing the acquisition of animals from India and abroad, particularly elephants.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale passed the order on two petitions filed following the controversy over the shifting of an ailing elephant from a temple in Kolhapur to Vantara in July.
The first petition demanded that a monitoring committee be set up to look into alleged irregularities at the rescue centre, all captive elephants be returned to their owners and all wild animals at the facility be released back to the wild.
The second petition challenged the transfer of the ailing elephant named Madhuri or Madhavi to Vantara.
For more than 30 years, the elephant had been at a Jain monastery, named the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sansthan Mutt, in Kolhapur’s Nandani village.
In July, the Bombay High Court ordered Madhuri’s rehabilitation to Vantara, and the Supreme Court subsequently upheld the order. The elephant was moved to the Reliance Foundation-run centre in Gujarat on July 30, sparking protests in Kolhapur.
On August 5, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking Madhuri’s return to Kolhapur. The chief minister added that Vantara had agreed to join the plea before the Supreme Court.
On Monday, the Supreme Court directed the SIT to also examine if Vantara complies with the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, import and export laws for live animals, animal husbandry and veterinary standards, among others, Live Law reported.
The court also asked the Central Zoo Authority, the Convention on Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna Management Authority, the Union environment ministry and Gujarat’s forest and police departments to assist the SIT.
The court ordered that the SIT to conduct a “physical verification and inspection” of Vantara, making the secretary of the Gujarat forest department responsible for ensuring full cooperation, Live Law reported.
It clarified that the order should not be construed to have cast doubt on the function of Vantara or any statutory authority. The court also stated that it has not expressed any view about the merits of the allegations and that the SIT inquiry is only a fact-finding exercise.
The investigating team will be headed by retired Justice J Chelameswar and will include former Uttarakhand High Court and Telangana High Court Chief Justice Raghavendra Chauhan, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale and Additional Commissioner of Customs Anish Gupta.
The team has been directed to submit its report by September 12.
In a statement on Tuesday, Vantara said that it was committed to “transparency, compassion and full compliance with the law”, ANI reported.
“We will extend full cooperation to the Special Investigation Team and continue our work sincerely, always placing the welfare of animals at the heart of our efforts,” the centre was quoted as saying. “We request that the process be allowed to proceed without speculation and in the best interest of the animals we serve.”
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