Kerala festival organisers allege bias in HC restrictions on parading elephants

Thiruvananthapuram: Aggrieved over the strict regulations imposed by the Kerala High Court on parading elephants in festivals, a forum of festival organisers and enthusiasts have petitioned the HC chief justice citing "conflict of interest of the judges" who prescribed the regulations.

The petitioners said that one of the judges had earlier appeared for animal welfare organization PETA and the other judge was earlier associated with the law firm associated with PETA. "Hence, there could be conflict of interest in considering the case by the bench and issuing guidelines on parading elephants for festivals."

The petition, which is signed by 1,021 festival organisers, stake holders and festival enthusiasts also alleged that some organisations and individuals involved in the case were being funded by foreign agencies with the aim of eroding the cultural and religious ethos of Kerala.

Thrissur-based Poora Premi Sangham (festival lovers forum) said in a statement that the fresh guidelines would affect the cultural and traditional practices being followed with regard to use of elephants for temple festivals and rituals. "Hence, the HC guidelines should be reviewed."

A division bench of justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and justice P Gopinath on October 13 issued guidelines for parading elephants for festivals. It prescribed minimum space to be left between elephants and put time limits for parading elephants.

The order has not gone down well with festival organisers and elephant owners as the number of elephants that could be paraded for all major festivals, including the popular Thrissur pooram, will have to be drastically reduced. In view of the pressure from these sections, the state government is even planning to bring in legislation to overcome the guidelines.