Tiger is not held in captivity; Case is only for publicity: Justice
A file picture of Ustad in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve taken in 2010. Recently, the big cat has been shifted to Sajjangarh Biological Park. (Photo: AFP)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to interfere with a Rajasthan High Court order dismissing a public interest litigation against the shifting of Tiger-24 (called as Ustad) from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur.
Rejecting the PIL on May 28, the High Court had held that the move by the forest department officials to shift the tiger was not in any way unreasonable or taken in haste. Senior counsel Raj Panjwani, appearing for the appellant Pune-based social activist Chandra Bhal Singh submitted before a vacation bench of Justices Prafulla Pant and Amitav Roy that a committee was looking into the issue and till such time the committee gave its report, the tiger should not be sent to a zoo.
The bench told the counsel, “This is not a case in which courts should interfere. The tiger had mauled people to death and it is not held in captivity. It has been shifted. This is a case filed for publicity.” Justice Roy said, “I have seen this tiger. It demonstrates that it is ustad.” The counsel then pleaded for withdrawing the appeal and the vacation bench dismissed it as withdrawn.
( Source : dc )
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