Institute of Legal and Management Studies

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the transfer of Kolhapur Temple Elephant Mahadevi(also called Madhuri( to Vantara's Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, Jamnagar.

The bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and AS Chandukar agreed to list the matter for Thursday.

The Counsel urged for an early listing on the matter and said : " Mylords, there is a sanctuary called Vantara, and they have forcibly taken a temple elephant away."

For over 30 years, Mahadevi was a temple elephant and under the care of Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswamy Sanstha, a shrine revered by the Jain Community in Nandani village in Kolhapur. After the transfer, thousands have taken to the streets protesting against the decision.

In July, the Bombay High Court rejected a petition filed by Swasthishri Jinsen Bhattarak, Pattacharya Mahaswami Sanstha, Math (Karveer) Kolhapur - a Jain temple trust, which challenged the order of a High Power Committee (HPC) that had recommended the transfer of Radhe Krishna Elephant Welfare Trust (RKEWT) in Jamnagar.

The High Court bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Dr Neela Gokhale agreed with the contentions of a High Power Committee (HPC) that the well-being of the elephant must be considered over the religious activities of the Math, where it is presently kept. The judges noted from the record that the elephant has been in a bad shape physically.

On July 28, a Supreme Court bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan had dismissed a petition filed by the Kolhapur temple trust (Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswamy Sanstha) against the High Court's order.

While dismissing the petition, the bench had also observed :

"Let the directions issued by the High Court be complied with at the earliest. The travel of the elephant shall take place at the earliest and all steps shall be taken to ensure that elephant does not suffer any injury or has to experience any other difficulties during the travel from Kolhapur to Jamnagar."

After the transfer of the elephant to Jamnagar led to huge public protests, the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Jain shrine will file a review against the Supreme Court order and that the State Government will support the return of the elephant.

“I had an extensive discussion with the Vantara team today in Mumbai. Good news is that they assured me that they are happy to join Maharashtra Government's petition before the Hon'ble Supreme Court for the smooth passage of the elephant 🐘 'Madhuri' back to the Math. Vantara told that they are acting only on the orders of the Hon Supreme Court and had no intentions to grab the custody of 'Madhuri'. The team also showed their willingness to build a rehab centre for Madhuri in Kolhapur near Nandani at a place selected by the Forest Department of Govt ot Maharashtra. They also informed that they give highest respect to the religious sentiments of the community," the Chief Minister said in a tweet.