A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices Subhash Reddy and AS Bopanna has issued notice to the Centre and 13 other states on a petition seeking to declare the practice of using barbaric means and explosives to ward off wild animals as unconstitutional, illegal and violative of Articles 14, and 21 of the Constitution.
The plea, filed in the wake of an wild animals like elephant’s in Kerala after it fell prey to explosives meant to ward off wild animals, relies on Indian religious texts to signify the importance of elephants in India.
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The petition filed by Subham Awasthi through Advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma sought a direction to the Central and State governments for necessary amendments in the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act, 1960 to increase punishments for causing cruelty against animals.
The petition has also sought the issuance of directions to the Central/ State Governments to update their forest forces with modern equipment and necessary literature regarding animal welfare.
The petition further seeks a direction to the Centre and States to issue guidelines for the tracking of elephants in order to save them from the threat of extinction and cruelty against them.
Read the petition here: