News
Court of Appeal says resounding ‘No’ to handing over captive elephants back to owners
View(s):- Says Cabinet’s decisions regarding the regularisation of the registration of tamed elephants “reveal a significant disregard for legal principles and statutory mandates”
- Orders authorities to prosecute all who illegally kept the elephants
By Ranjith Padmasiri
The Court of Appeal (CA) has issued an order quashing the orders of the Magistrate’s Courts of Colombo and Matale to hand over captive elephants under the care of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) back to their owners. The Court has also ordered authorities to take steps to prosecute all individuals who illegally kept the elephants.
The bench comprising Justices Sobitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola gave the order after considering four petitions filed against the gazette issued in 2021 directing the release of 15 elephants taken into the DWC’s custody, while being kept illegally, back to their owners.
With Justice Ganepola agreeing, Justice Rajakaruna, in his judgment, observed that the Cabinet’s decisions regarding the regularisation of the registration of tamed elephants “reveal a significant disregard for legal principles and statutory mandates.”
The Court added that the concerted effort to settle pending criminal proceedings or to withdraw such cases without a solid legal foundation, as evidenced by the documents presented, raises significant concerns about the rule of law and adherence to established legal principals. Moreover, the Cabinet’s directive to the Ministry of Wildlife to seek the Attorney General’s advicefor settling cases related to tamed elephants, rather than allowing these cases to proceed through the judicial system, undermines the integrity of the legal process. “This approach suggests a preference for expediency over justice, potentially compromising the fair adjudication of criminal cases,” the Court has further noted.
By allowing tamed elephants to be handed over to their purported “present owners” without thorough legal scrutiny, the Cabinet has opened the doors to potential abuses, the judgment adds. “These decisions could enable individuals to retain or acquire elephants without proper authorization, encouraging illegal possession and exploitation of these elephants.”
The CA ordered the Director General of Wildlife Conservation, Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Inspector General of Police and Attorney General to take necessary steps to prosecute all individuals who illegally kept the elephants referred to in the cases before the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo and Matale, who have not been lawfully registered in terms of Section 22A of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.
The Court also issued an order prohibiting the Director General of Wildlife Conservation from making any decision to hand over the custody of any of the elephants who were ordered to be released by the Orders of the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo and Matale, until a lawful order from an appropriate court of law is issued in that regard.
The Centre for Eco-Cultural Studies, Justice for Animals, Centre for Environmental Justice and Centre for Environmental Justice were among the petitioners.
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