Dispute over custody of elephant between two mutts reaches Karnataka High Court

Davangere: A dispute between two religious mutts in Karnataka over the custody of an elephant has reached the High Court of Karnataka. The Forest Department, which had provided the elephant to one of the mutts and later transferred its ownership to another, is in a fix following the development.

The Krishna Mutt in Udupi and the Hirekal Mutt in Honnali in Davangere district are both claiming ownership of the 33-year-old female elephant named Subhadre. The dispute has intensified as devotees and politicians have also intervened in it.

The Forest Department's latest order that the elephant, which is in the custody of the Hirekal Mutt, should be returned to the Udupi mutt, has escalated the matter.

The background

In 1993, at the request of the Krishna Mutt, the department provided the elephant to it. It was named ‘Subhadre’ and was kept by the mutt. In 2015, when the elephant’s health deteriorated, it was sent to the Sakrebailu Elephant Camp in Shivamogga district for treatment. The department then said the elephant had to be returned to the Udupi mutt after its recovery in a year.

The Udupi mutt wrote to the department in 2018 stating that it was ready to hand over the elephant permanently to the department as it was finding it difficult to bear the expenses of looking after it. However, the department said that the elephant's care and maintenance costs should be borne by the Udupi mutt.

In April 2019, the Udupi Mutt wrote to the department again and said it would shift the elephant to the Hirekal Mutt in Honnali as it was difficult for it to bear the expenses. It also said that the Hirekal Mutt had proper facilities for raising elephants. Later, the department issued an order approving the transfer of the elephant to the Hirekal Mutt until further orders.

After that, as proper facilities were made for the elephant at the Hirekal Mutt, an order was issued to continue to keep it at that mutt. An ownership certificate for the elephant was issued in the Hirekal Mutt's name.

Udupi Mutt's request

Later, however, the Udupi Mutt wrote to the Forest Department requesting that the female elephant be returned to it by the department for the Krishna Mutt's festivals.

Based on this request, the department issued an order recently asking the Hirekal Mutt to return the elephant Subhadre to the Udupi mutt.

Hirekal Mutt has strongly objected to that order and moved the High Court. Devotees of the mutt had said that the elephant cannot be returned for any reason.