Courts to Side With Animals as ‘Silent Victims’ of Commercial Exploitation, Says SC
Apex court defers hearing on Nilgiris resort petitions, stresses wildlife protection over commercial interests
New Delhi, Dec 20: The Supreme Court on Saturday underscored that courts will lean in favour of animals, describing them as “silent victims” whose natural migration routes are disrupted by human activity and commercial interests.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, deferred the hearing on a batch of petitions filed by hotel and resort owners in the Nilgiris to January, noting that the issue requires detailed examination.
Observing that the constructions fall within an identified elephant corridor, the bench said such commercial activities interfere with the movement of elephants. “All of you are here for commercial purposes and in an elephant corridor. These constructions interfere with elephant movement. The benefit must go to these animals who are silent victims of these commercial developments,” the court remarked.
The petitions challenge the eviction orders issued after the Tamil Nadu government notified elephant corridors in the Sigur Plateau region of the Nilgiris. The Madras High Court, on September 12, had upheld the recommendations of an apex court-appointed committee, which found that land acquired by private parties within the elephant corridors was illegal and that the structures must be dismantled.
The Supreme Court was earlier informed that more than 800 constructions, including 39 resorts and nearly 390 houses, exist within the Sigur elephant corridor.
Senior advocates Salman Khurshid and Shoeb Alam, appearing for different petitioners, argued that the properties were purchased long before the elephant corridors were officially notified. They contended that the owners should be allowed to continue their “eco-friendly” operations, subject to restrictions on expansion.
Alam further submitted that similar matters are scheduled for hearing in January and requested that all cases be taken up together. Accepting the request, the apex court adjourned the matter to the first week of January for further hearing.
