HC notice to Delhi govt on man's plea for custody of elephant

The Delhi High Court today sought a response from the city government on a plea by an elephant- owner challenging the Lt Governor's order dismissing his plea for release of the animal which is in the custody of the Elephant Rescue Centre in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
The animal was sent to the custody of the Elephant Rescue Centre after it had met with an accident on the Noida Expressway in June 2012.
A bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru issued a notice to the LG and Chief Wild Life Warden here on the plea of the owner, Shaukat Ali.
Ali has challenged the LG's June 29, 2014 order rejecting his appeal against the September 2013 decision of the Chief Wild Life Warden who had dismissed his plea for ownership certificate in respect of the female elephant.

The warden had contended that the elephant was taken into Uttar Pradesh for commercial purposes without permission from the authorities and was a government property now for which no ownership certificate can be issued.
Ali has contended in his plea, filed through advocate Javed Khan, that the pachyderm, Champa, had inadvertently crossed over to the neighbouring state while it was grazing along with another elephant and met with an accident there.

While Champa was injured, the other elephant died in the accident, the petition has said.
Ali had sought the release of the elephant before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar who had dismissed the plea, his petition said, adding that thereafter, an appeal against the order was rejected by the District Judge there.

Subsequently, he had moved the Allahabad High Court which had held that he has to first move the Chief Wilf Life Warden for an ownership certificate, after which he can approach the District Magistrate for interim custody of the animal.
However, his application for ownership certificate was rejected by the warden as well as the LG.