Neither the High Court nor the State government can extend the timeline fixed by the Supreme Court for temples and devaswoms to register with the District Committee constituted under the Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012, the Kerala High Court has observed.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas opined that without any extension of the time granted by the Supreme Court, it was not proper for the High Court to direct a delayed registration or even to direct the consideration of an application for time extension.
The court was considering a petition by the trustee and the president of the Sree Manathala Shiva-Parvathi Temple seeking a direction to register the temple under the District Committee and to grant permission to conduct elephant procession in connection with the temple festival.
The Supreme Court had directed that temples or devaswoms should register themselves with the District Committee within six weeks from August 18, 2015. The government issued an order in April 2022 permitting registration of elephant parades, for the strict implementation of the apex court’s directives.
The petitioners argued that they had paraded elephants for several years and continued to do so during festivals even after the rules were enacted. They stated that they could not register the temple within the extended time and that they preferred to apply to the Minister of Forests, Keralam, for registration, but their application was denied.
The petitioners further argued that the Supreme Court had only directed the implementation of the rules and did not strictly stipulate a time limit. They also contended that ‘a sympathetic consideration’ of the matter would not cause prejudice to anyone.
The Assistant Conservator of Forests pointed out that they received 84 applications during the extended time, and despite the grant of several opportunities, the petitioner’s temple had not filed any application.
The court maintained that though the Supreme Court held that registration of the temple or the devaswom was necessary for effective and proper control, the timeline fixed therein is only six weeks from August 2015. A purpose was evident from the timeline fixed, the court observed.
Published - October 20, 2026 03:03 pm IST