Participation of elephants in festivals part of our culture: Supreme Court

Supreme Court of India defends use of elephants in festivals as cultural tradition amidst foreign funding allegations.

The Supreme Court of India remarked on Monday (March 17, 2025) that the use of elephants in festivals was a cultural part of the country.

A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing a petition filed by NGO Vishwa Gaja Seva Samithi, which challenged a judgment of the Kerala High Court on January 13 in a suo motu case on the treatment of captive elephants in religious festivals, especially in the State’s temples.

The petitioner NGO, represented by senior advocate Vikas Singh and advocate Narender Kumar Verma, urged the apex court to “re-evaluate the all-impractical directions and biased observations” made by a Special Bench of the High Court.

The NGO sought the Bench’s interventions “to ensure the deeply rooted tradition of Kerala Hindu temple festivals including ezhunnellippu are preserved and protected within the bounds of Constitutional safeguards.”

“Animal activists and NGOs have now become money-making tools and a majority of them are based in foreign countries and funded by foreign countries. Many animal rights activists in India are the agents of these crypto NGOs and they are trying to stop pujas and rituals in Hindu temples in India,” the petition alleged. It asked the court to initiate an enquiry into the allegations of their foreign funding.

In the context of Kerala, the NGO said “each festival has a different set of legends and myths behind it, depending on the temple deity. However, most revolve around the presence of elephants to honour the deity. The majority of Hindu temples in Kerala own elephants, which are donated by devotees.” The petitioner pointed out that even the State emblem of Kerala depict two elephants facing each other, with their trunks raised and the Ashoka Pillar and the Conch in the middle.

The petition claimed the very inception and progress of the proceedings in the High Court were “undermining and belittling the cultural and religious sentiments of millions of devotees who consider the use of elephants in festivals as an integral part of their religious practices.”