New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered the constitution of a SIT to inquire into the affairs of vantara (greens zoological rescue and rehabilitation centre) run by the Reliance foundation at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
The plea had sought the release of elephants, wild animals and birds back into their natural habitats.
A bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B Varale, while initially noting that the petition contained allegations without supporting material, later held that an independent appraisal was required “to dispel allegations that the statutory authorities or the courts are either unwilling or incapable of discharging their mandate, more particularly in the absence of verification of correctness of the factual situation.”
The SIT will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice J Chelameswar, with Justice Raghvendra Chauhan (former chief justice of Uttarakhand and Telangana high courts), Hemant Nagrale IPS (former Mumbai police commissioner), and Anish Gupta IRS (additional commissioner of customs) as members.
The team has been tasked with inquiring into, among other aspects, compliance with the Wildlife Protection Act and other statutes in the acquisition of animals from India and abroad, particularly elephants.