The Madras High Court has directed the principal chief conservator of forests and the chief wildlife warden to immediately take possession of a female elephant allegedly being used for begging by the wife of a mahout.
The division bench, comprising Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, ordered the official to either keep the 34-year-old elephant in a camp or transport it to a zoo, in accordance with the law.
The bench gave the direction on a petition from S Muralidharan, who sought a direction to 'remove' the elephant from the custody of the woman, Indira, the wife of the mahout of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple.
The court said the material on record showed that the caretakers of the elephant had paid Rs 25,000 fine imposed on them by the chief conservator of forests and cases were registered against them.
It noted that the ownership certificate had not yet been transferred to the woman.
"The material on record further indicates that various provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2011 have been violated."
The pachyderm too suffered burn injuries, but was not taken care of, he said
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