Blue Cross of India questions appointment of committee to look into its daily operations; Madras High Court orders status quo
The Hindu
Madras High Court orders maintenance of status quo for Blue Cross of India operations in Chennai.
The Madras High Court has ordered maintenance of status quo pursuant to an order passed by the Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services on June 19 this year for constituting a committee to “look into daily operations” of Blue Cross of India (BCI) in Chennai.
Justice Anita Sumanth granted the interim relief, till August 23, following a writ petition filed by BCI, represented by its honorary secretary Saraswathi Haksan who questioned the authority of Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNAWB) and the Director of Animal Husbandry to interfere in the affairs of BCI.
The orders were passed after hearing senior counsel A.L. Somayaji for the petitioner organisation and after senior central government standing counsel V. Chandrasekharan took notice on behalf of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). The judge ordered notices to the State authorities too.
In her affidavit, Ms. Haksan said the BCI had been serving as a beacon of compassion and a sanctuary for voiceless creatures in Chennai city since 1959. She said that it operates a veterinary hospital as well as an animal shelter at Velachery in order to provide care for animals in need.
However, a person named S. Muralidharan, who was earlier associated with BCI but later developed a personal vendetta against the office-bearers, sent a complaint to the AWBI in February this year with wild and reckless accusations against the petitioner organisation, she said.
The AWBI had forwarded the complaint to the Greater Chennai Corporation which conducted a surprise inspection of BCI’s facilities on March 7 but did not find any major issues but for issuing certain advisories such as affixing closed circuit television cameras in the entrance to monitor alleged dumping of animal carcasses.
However, without any authority, the TNAWB too sent a separate team for inspection and that team comprised of the Board’s honorary member Shruti Vinodhraj, who too had a personal grudge against BCI office-bearers, and it ended up submitting an adverse report, Ms. Haksan complained.
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