Kerala HC refuses to dilute three metre norm while parading elephants

Parading elephants for temple festivals is not an essential religious practice, held a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court.

The Bench consisting of Justices A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and P. Gopinath made the observation on Thursday while refusing to relax the direction that a distance of three metres shall be maintained between elephants while parading them for temple festivals.

The Cochin Devaswom Board had moved the court seeking an exemption from the three-metre norm for parading elephants for the Thripunithura Poornathrayeesa temple festival, which begins on Friday.

The annual temple festival season of central Kerala begins with the festival of the Thripunithura Poornathrayeesa temple. Usually, around 15 elephants are paraded at the festival. The number of elephants will have to be cut down drastically if the court directive regarding the distance to be maintained between the animals is strictly enforced.

The Court noted that a maximum of four elephants could be paraded at the temple after leaving a distance of three metres between the animals.

The Bench, while considering the case, had orally observed that the Supreme Court had clarified that an essential religious practice was one without which the religion would cease to exist. The three-metre distance norm was established after considering an expert opinion, the court pointed out.

P. S. Easa, former director of the Kerala Forest Research Institute and a member of the expert committee appointed by the High Court in the Arikomban elephant case, informed the court that relaxing the three-metre rule could prove dangerous.

Published - November 28, 2024 10:02 pm IST