IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.H.L.DATTU & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE K.T.SANKARAN FRIDAY, THE 14TH MARCH 2008 / 24TH PHALGUNA 1929 WP(C).No. 11236 of 2007(S) -------------------------------------------------- PETITIONER:- ------------------ V.SREEKUAMR, S/O.M.VASUDEVAN NAIR, KONGARETTU HOUSE,MATHILBHAGAM, THIRUVALLA, PATHANAMTHITTA. BY ADV. SRI.S.SUBHASH CHAND RESPONDENTS:- ----------------------- 1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. THE CHIEF WILD LIFE WARDEN, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF WILD LIFE WARDEN, FORESTS HEADQUARTERS, VAZHUTHACAUD,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-14. 3. THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, THIRUVANANTHAURAM. 4. THE SPECIAL COMMISSIONER FOR TRAVANCORE/COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD /PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, DEPARTMENT OF DEVASWOM, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 5. THE SECRETARY, TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD OFFICE OF THE TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD, DEVASWOM BUILDING,NANATHANCODE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. W.P.(C).No.11236/2007 -2- 6. THE SECRETARY, COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD, OFFICE OF THE COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD, THRISSUR. R2 BY SPECIAL GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI.RANJITH THAMPAN. R5 BY STANDING COUNSEL SRI.K.N.VENUGOPALA PANICKER. R6 BY STANDING COUNSEL SRI.K.GOPALAKRISHNA KURUP. THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 14/03/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: H.L.DATTU, C.J. & K.T.SANKARAN, J. ------------------------------------------------------ W.P.(C) No.11236 of 2007-S ------------------------------------------------------- Dated, this the 14th day of March, 2008 JUDGMENT H.L.Dattu, C.J. A devotee and a public spirited citizen is before us for several reliefs in this Public Interest Litigation filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. The sum and substance of the reliefs sought in the writ petition is to direct the Officers of the State Government and in particular the Officers of the Forest Department to implement the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2003 (“Rules” for short). (2). In the petition filed, the petitioner alleges that the State Government and its Officers are not faithfully implementing the Rules which specifically provides various measures and procedures to protect the captive elephants. Except producing the paper cuttings, nothing else is produced to sustain the assertions made in the writ petition. (3). Along with the writ petition docket, the petitioner has also produced the judgments rendered by this Court in W.P.(C) No.20344/2005 disposed of on 7th September, 2005 and the judgment in W.P.(C) No.27119/2003 dated 24th November, 2004. In the first writ petition the Court had issued specific directions to the Travancore, Guruvayoor and Cochin Devaswom Boards. (4). In the present writ petition, the petitioner does not allege that these Devaswom Boards have violated the directions issued by this Court WPC No.11236/2007 -2- while disposing of those writ petitions. As we have already observed, certain assertions are made on the ground that the respondent Forest authorities are not implementing, in letter and spirit, the Rules. (5). Sri.Ranjith Thampan, learned counsel appearing for the 2nd respondent, on instruction, would submit that the State Government has issued several Circulars pointing out to the Devaswom Boards to specifically follow and implement the Rules. The learned counsel also would submit that the State Government has constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of the District Collector to oversee and to overlook the implementation of the Rules and the Circular/instructions. In sum and substance the learned counsel would submit that the State Government, like the petitioner, is also interested in the welfare of the captive elephants and is trying its best to protect the interest of those captive elephants by issuing appropriate Circulars time and again to all the Devaswom Boards. (6). Since no specific incidents have been brought to our notice about either the violation of the Rules or the violation of the Circular/instructions issued by the State Government, it may not be possible for us to issue specific directions to any one of the Devaswom Boards. In the absence of appropriate material before us, it would be difficult for this Court to issue positive directions to any one of the Devaswom Boards. Therefore, for the present, the reliefs sought for by the petitioner cannot be granted by us, but we can only observe that the respondents would take all such effective steps to implement, both in letter and spirit, the provisions of the Rules and also the Circular/instructions issued by them. We only hope and desire that WPC No.11236/2007 -3- the captive elephants are taken care of by the Devaswom Boards as envisaged under the Rules. With these observations the writ petition is disposed of. (7). In view of the order passed in the writ petition, all pending interlocutory applications are closed. Ordered accordingly. (H.L.DATTU) CHIEF JUSTICE (K.T.SANKARAN) JUDGE MS