Elephant parading: Kerala HC initiates contempt proceedings against Cochin Devaswom officer

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday decided to initiate civil contempt proceedings against a Cochin Devaswom officer of the Thripunithura Sree Poornathrayeesha Temple here for allegedly parading elephants in violation of guidelines laid down by the court.

A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Gopinath P decided to initiate contempt proceedings against the officer as it was not satisfied by the explanation given by him on affidavit for not adhering to the guidelines for parading elephants, a senior government lawyer associated with the case said.

The court will take up the matter next on January 9, 2025.

The order by the court came during the hearing of a plea initiated by it with regard to the alleged executive and legislative inaction of the state government for protecting animal rights, especially that of captive elephants.

The bench had sought an explanation from the officer with regard to the alleged non-adherence to elephant parading guidelines on December 2 amidst the Thripunithura Sree Poornathrayeesha Temple festival.

The Forest department had lodged a case on the same day against officials of the temple for allegedly failing to maintain the prescribed distance between elephants while parading them as part of the annual festival.