Won’t permit African elephant’s shifting outside India, says Delhi HC, orders inspection of zoo

The division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the CZA and AWBI, after joint inspection, shall submit a detailed and exhaustive report with respect to the elephant as well as the area in which he has been kept.

“The affidavit will also include whether instructions issued from time to time by Central Zoo Authority in respect of extending the enclosure have been followed by the Delhi Zoo or not,” said the court, adding that the authorities will also inform the court whether the elephant can be relocated to some national park or sanctuary inside India.

The court also asked the authorities to explore the possibility of importing another African elephant, preferably a female of the same age group. It listed the case for the next hearing on August 31.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by a 16-year-old Nikita Dhawan for the release and rehabilitation of the African elephant named Shankar. The elephant was one of the two African elephants gifted to India by the Zimbabwean government in 1998, and is currently among the three elephants at Delhi Zoo, the other two being Indian.

The petition filed last year, through advocate Dhananjay Grover, alleges that the elephant is a victim of “cruelty and viciousness at the hands of caretakers at the zoo,” and seeks rehabilitation of the elephant to a suitable wildlife sanctuary that houses other African elephants. Senior advocate Raj Pajwani, who represents Dhawan, Wednesday submitted that the elephant perpetually remains chained barring a few hours.

The CZA, in 2009, issued a circular banning the exhibition of elephants in zoos. Pajwani told the court that the African elephant cannot be taken to any other rescue centre because only Asian elephants are there, and an endeavour was made earlier to see whether he can be relocated to a country which has got African elephants.