Supreme Court Stays Kerala High Court's Restrictions on Elephant Use in Temple Festivals
On Thursday, December 19, the Supreme Court effectively stayed the Kerala High Court's imposed restrictions on the use of elephants in temple festivals.
The Court ruled that any direction from the High Court that conflicts with the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012 would remain stayed.
The ruling came from a bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice NK Singh, which was hearing an appeal filed by the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu devaswoms, the organizers of the prominent Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala. The bench remarked that the High Court's directions were "impractical" and questioned how the High Court could create regulations that replace the authority vested in the rule-making bodies.
The High Court had issued several directives, including ensuring a minimum 3-meter distance between two elephants, maintaining an 8-meter gap between an elephant and the public or any percussion display, and requiring a 100-meter distance from areas where fireworks are used. The Court also stipulated that elephants must be given at least three days of rest between exhibitions. The High Court bench, led by Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice P. Gopinath, had ruled that the use of elephants in festivals was not an essential religious practice.
In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the temple devaswoms argued that the High Court's restrictions were unrealistic and would severely disrupt the conduct of the Poorams.
Cause Title: Thiruvambady Devaswom and another v. Union of India
Case No: SLP(C) No. 30389-30390/2024
Date: December-19-2024
Bench: Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice NK Singh
