Kerala HC Dismisses PIL Seeking Relocation Of Rogue Elephant ‘Arikomban’

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the relocation of a rogue elephant named Arikomban back to Kerala.

Arikomban had been causing damage to property in the human settlement areas of the Chinnakanal area in Kerala’s Idukki district. On April 29, Arikomban was translocated to the Periyar Tiger Reserve after a radio collar was fixed on him.

However, reports emerged that the elephant came close to human settlements in Tamil Nadu, leading the Tamil Nadu Forest Department to issue an order to tranquilize, capture, and relocate the elephant to the deep forest area of Villaimalai.

The division bench of Justices Alexander Thomas and C Jayachandran dismissed the PIL today, stating that since the Tamil Nadu government had stated that it will take Arikomban to the deep forest, the petitioner’s contention that the elephant had to be brought back to Kerala, is irrelevant.

“If the Tamil Nadu government has graciously accepted it, why interfere? You don’t say in the plea, why it has to be brought in Kerala,” the bench inquired.

The bench further questioned the petitioner if there was any case of cruelty towards the elephant by the people of Tamil Nadu.

“I have my doubts about the true intent of this litigation. They are experiencing more fear, our fear is lessened,” the Bench stated.

The PIL sought proper medical care for the rogue elephant and the use of scientific methods to minimize trauma during rehabilitation and translocation.

The bench also pointed out that the petitioner lacked factual averments and did not have any bona fide grounds.

“How did you get into this? What is your expertise? What is the court’s expertise in dealing with the issue in Tamil Nadu? What do you believe the Madras High Court is incapable of? If you or someone else is having a problem, you can approach before the Madras High Court. We have doubts regarding the bona fides of your prayer. As in the person who made the prayers. Are you suggesting that the injuries on the trunk were caused by the Tamil Nadu government and people’s actions?” The bench inquired.

Sabu M Jacob, the Chief Coordinator of the charitable society ‘Twenty-20 Association’, as well as the President of the Twenty-20 Party and the Managing Director of Kitex Garments, filed the PIL.

He argued that relocating the tusker to the Periyar Tiger Reserve did not result in a meaningful solution because the tusker infiltrated human-inhabited areas in Tamil Nadu.

It was also argued that three people were injured while attempting to flee from the tusker, and that other vehicles were destroyed.

The petitioner highlighted that the plea was filed in response to an order issued by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department to tranquillize and capture the elephant in order to relocate it to the deep forest area of Villaimalai.

The petitioner stated that he is not opposed to tranquillizing and capturing Arikomban, but he is opposed to the elephant being relocated to an artificial environment.

He further said that it was clear from media images that the elephant’s trunk had been seriously wounded and had become weak owing to a lack of drinking water.

As a result, the petitioner sought orders to the concerned authorities to exercise extreme care and caution by not causing any injury or health risk to the tusker when using tranquilization.