No intention to send Joymala, the elephant, back to Assam: TN

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday informed the Madras High Court that it has no intention of sending back Joymala, the Srivilliputhur temple elephant, to Assam.

The government’s decision came a day after the Assam government moved the Gauhati High Court seeking a directive to bring back the pachyderm to its home state following reports of alleged torture in Tamil Nadu.

Additional Advocate General J Ravindran told a bench of acting Chief Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice Sunder Mohan that the state government has no plans of sending back the elephant to Assam from where it was brought to Tamil Nadu a few years ago.

It all started when PETA released a video allegedly showing a mahout ill-treating Joymala in the premises of the temple near Madurai. However, the Tamil Nadu Forest department denied the charge vehemently and said the elephant was not tortured.

The Tamil Nadu government’s submission came on a PIL filed before the court restraining the state from sending the elephants back to Assam.

Joymala, renamed as Jeymalyatha, was reportedly given on a six-month lease to a temple in Tamil Nadu in 2008 by its owner in Assam’s Tinsukia district. The domesticated elephant, however, was not returned after six months, which was a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Assam Government said.

Assam’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests MK Yadava had on Wednesday said Tamil Nadu government had written to them saying that the elephant is doing well and there was nothing to worry.

“But they did not say anything about discussion to bring the animal back. The elephant belongs to Assam and so we have moved a petition in the Gauhati High Court. Let's see what directive the court issues,” he said