SIT set up by SC to probe how Vantara rescue centre acquires animals
text_fields
The Supreme Court on Monday set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the functioning of Vantara, an animal rescue centre operated by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar, Gujarat, according to Live Law.
The SIT has been tasked with determining whether the centre complies with the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act, zoo regulations, and laws governing the acquisition of animals from both India and abroad, with a particular focus on elephants.
The order was issued by a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale while hearing two petitions filed after controversy arose in July over the shifting of an ailing elephant from a temple in Kolhapur to Vantara.
The first petition sought the formation of a monitoring committee to investigate alleged irregularities at the rescue centre, the return of all captive elephants to their owners, and the release of all wild animals at the facility back into their natural habitats.
The second petition specifically challenged the transfer of the ailing elephant, known as Madhuri or Madhavi, to Vantara, Scroll.in reported.
For over three decades, the elephant Madhuri had been kept at a Jain monastery named the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sansthan Mutt in Nandani village, Kolhapur.
In July, the Bombay High Court ordered that Madhuri be rehabilitated at Vantara, the animal rescue centre run by the Reliance Foundation in Gujarat. The Supreme Court later upheld this decision, and the elephant was moved to the facility on July 30, which triggered protests in Kolhapur.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on August 5 announced that the state government would file a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking Madhuri’s return to Kolhapur. He also stated that Vantara had agreed to join the plea before the apex court.
On Monday, the Supreme Court
The SC on Monday directed the SIT to additionally examine whether Vantara complies with the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), as well as laws related to the import and export of live animals, animal husbandry regulations, and veterinary standards, according to Live Law.
The Supreme Court has directed several authorities, including 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 in its inquiry into the functioning of Vantara.
The court instructed the SIT to carry out a “physical verification and inspection” of Vantara, assigning the secretary of the Gujarat forest department the responsibility of ensuring full cooperation. It clarified that this order should not be interpreted as casting doubt on Vantara’s functioning or that of any statutory authority. The court also emphasised that it has expressed no opinion on the merits of the allegations and that the SIT’s role is purely to conduct a fact-finding exercise.
The SIT will be headed by retired Justice J Chelameswar and will include former Uttarakhand 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 instructed to submit its report by September 12.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Vantara said it remains committed to “transparency, compassion, and full compliance with the law,” according to ANI.
