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The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea that challenged the capture and translocation of a sub-adult elephant named Omkar to Vantara (Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust).
Omkar, around 10 years old, had strayed from its herd and entered human habitats in Maharashtra, causing damage and posing a threat to humans. This comes after Bombay High Court's Kolhapur bench had earlier allowed the temporary relocation, citing the elephant's safety and public concerns. The plea filed by one Rohit Kamble had challenged the Bombay High Court's (Kolhapur circuit bench) decision regarding the transfer of the said elephant, as had been ordered by the Chief Wildlife Warden (in Maharashtra) with respect to Omkar, following a human-elephant interaction that led to the death of a human life. The Bombay HC had subjected Omkar's relocation only to the determination of a High Powered Committee that would recommend the best course of action for Omkar's rehabilitation or release, whether in captivity or in the wild, including temporary relocation. The Supreme Court dismissed Rohit Kamble's plea and stated that there is no better alternative to Vantara with respect to the rescue and rehabilitation of wild elephants. In September, in response to a previous case involving Vantara, the Supreme Court noted that multiple inquiries into the affairs of the animal rescue and rehabilitation centre had led to the finding that there was no violation of law whatsoever. During that case, the bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B Varale found that there was no merit in the allegations of smuggling animals or money laundering against the Jamnagar-based facility, owned and operated by the Reliance Foundation. The Court's observations were made during a hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one CR Jaya Sukin, who alleged that animals are being smuggled into and mistreated in Vantara. In response to the allegations raised in the plea, the Court, on August 25, had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Jasti Chelameswar to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the affairs of Vantara. Subsequently, the SIT had submitted its report to the Supreme Court. The Court found that the SIT, in its thorough inquiry, found no violations of Indian law and international conventions on wildlife protection, customs, foreign trade, money laundering and others. The Court had accepted the SIT report at that time. After issuing the directions, the Court had disposed of that petition. (ANI)
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