High Court Postpones Hearing on Wild Elephants

• 16 Jan 2025

Why in News? 

A division bench of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) High Court, postponed the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).  

• The PIL seeks protection and proper care of wild elephants straying from Chhattisgarh to Madhya Pradesh.  

Key Points 

• The MP High court instructed that the case be presented before the regular bench hearing the matter.  
  • In the previous hearing before the bench headed by the Chief Justice, the state government informed the court that a committee, comprising a chairman and six experts, was constituted to examine the issues raised in the petition regarding the protection and well-being of wild elephants entering the jungles of Madhya Pradesh from Chhattisgarh.  
• The petitioner presented a list of experts in controlling wild elephants before the court.  
  • The state government requested time to consult experts from outside the state, as suggested by the petitioner.  
• During a previous hearing the petitioner raised the issue of the death of 11 wild elephants in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve area, stating that there is no expert in the state of MP to control the wild elephants.  

 

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve 

• It is located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh and is spread over the Vindhya hills. 
  • It holds significant historical importance, evidenced by the presence of the renowned Bandhavgarh Fort, along with numerous caves, rock paintings, and carvings throughout the protected area. 
• In 1968, it was designated as a national park and in 1993 was declared a tiger reserve. 
• It is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers. 
  • Other important prey species consist of chital, sambhar, barking deer, nilgai, chinkara, wild pig, chowsingha, langur and rhesus macaque. 
  • Dependent upon them are the major predators like tiger, leopard, wild dog, wolf and jackal.