Representational image only. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court of India remarked on Monday (March 17, 2025) that the use of elephants in festivals was a cultural part of the country.
A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing a petition filed by NGO Vishwa Gaja Seva Samithi, which challenged a judgment of the Kerala High Court on January 13 in a suo motu case on the treatment of captive elephants in religious festivals, especially in the State’s temples.
The petitioner NGO, represented by senior advocate Vikas Singh and advocate Narender Kumar Verma, urged the apex court to “re-evaluate the all-impractical directions and biased observations” made by a Special Bench of the High Court.
The NGO sought the Bench’s interventions “to ensure the deeply rooted tradition of Kerala Hindu temple festivals including ezhunnellippu are preserved and protected within the bounds of Constitutional safeguards.”
“Animal activists and NGOs have now become money-making tools and a majority of them are based in foreign countries and funded by foreign countries. Many animal rights activists in India are the agents of these crypto NGOs and they are trying to stop pujas and rituals in Hindu temples in India,” the petition alleged. It asked the court to initiate an enquiry into the allegations of their foreign funding.
In the context of Kerala, the NGO said “each festival has a different set of legends and myths behind it, depending on the temple deity. However, most revolve around the presence of elephants to honour the deity. The majority of Hindu temples in Kerala own elephants, which are donated by devotees.” The petitioner pointed out that even the State emblem of Kerala depict two elephants facing each other, with their trunks raised and the Ashoka Pillar and the Conch in the middle.
The petition claimed the very inception and progress of the proceedings in the High Court were “undermining and belittling the cultural and religious sentiments of millions of devotees who consider the use of elephants in festivals as an integral part of their religious practices.”
“It appears to us they want to completely stop the use of elephants in our festivals… It is a part of our culture,” Justice Nagarathna orally observed.
Mr. Singh said the use of elephants were part of both religious and cultural festivals. “Elephants, particularly in Kerala, are revered as sacred animals, symbolizing strength, divinity, and prosperity,” the petition said.
“There is a clear allegation of foreign funding. They are trying to interfere with our culture,” senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate Abhilash M.R., who appeared for Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu devaswoms, which host the annual Thrissur Pooram, an event which witnesses elaborately caparisoned elephants.
The Bench however did not agree with an application filed by the two devaswoms seeking a transfer of the case from the Kerala High Court to the Supreme Court itself. They contended that the case involved core issues pertaining to wildlife conservation and religious and cultural practices involving the use of elephants in temple festivals. They said a case dating back to 2014 concerning captive elephants was already pending in the Supreme Court.
Justice Nagarathna highlighted that the case involved the conflicting issues of welfare of elephants and their use for cultural purposes. The Bench said the High Court was already seized of the case and there were guidelines laid down under the Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012. The apex court wondered whether the transfer petition was a ploy to shift the case outside Kerala.
The devaswoms chose to withdraw the transfer plea. In December last year, the apex court struck a balance between animal rights and temple customs by directing the devaswoms to strictly adhere to the 2012 Rules while staying any directions issued by the Kerala High Court found contrary to the law.
In January 13 this year, the High Court however went ahead to reiterate the fact that festival organisers must mandatorily maintain ‘sufficient space’ between elephants used in processions and parades as per the Rules. “It ill-behoves the rule-making authority to maintain a deafening silence at a time when a strict adherence to the Rules is mandated by the Supreme Court,” the High Court had underscored.
Published – March 17, 2025 04:09 pm IST