Reportedly Madras High Court has ordered the rescue of a 34 year old elephant that was used by a woman in Madurai for begging and parading in marriage functions. When stating that Malachi, the elephant, had been subjected to ill treatment, the court directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden to take possession of the elephant immediately.
Furthermore a Bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium prasad suggested that the Department of Forests may either keep the elephant in a camp or transport her to a zoo, in accordance with law. Reportedly the court was hearing the petition of S Muralidharan, an animal lover, who had alleged that Indira, a woman from Madurai was subjecting Malachi to cruelty. Reportedly she had given the elephant to Indira to gift it to the meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai and Indira never gave it to the temple and employed the elephant for begging and marriage function parades.
Moreover the counter affidavit filed by the Chief Wildlife Warden also details five instances when the caretakers of the elephant were fined as much as Rs 25,000 for a number of violations including begging, ill treatment and a drunk mahout handling the elephant. Apparently Indira had denied the allegations, arguing that people automatically came and offered money to the elephant while she was walking on the road; the elephant was not used for any begging purpose and the court observed that the excuse cannot be accepted.
