Supreme Court panel urged to block transfer of Assam elephants to Tamil Nadu temples

What happened

An Assam-based conservationist has urged a Supreme Court-appointed committee to halt the transfer of four young captive elephants to temples in Tamil Nadu, warning that the moves lack mandatory legal clearance and may mask commercial sales.

Rohit Choudhury, an activist based in eastern Assam, wrote to the High-Powered Committee on Friday, 11 September 2026, requesting an immediate stop to the relocation of the animals. He also called for an investigation into the circumstances of their transfer, as well as that of a fifth elephant, a five-year-old female named Durga, who has already been moved to the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

Who is involved

The four elephants currently in line to be moved are Hiralal, an eight-year-old male, and Shiva, a six-year-old male, both destined for the Arulmigu Arunachaleshwarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Rupsing, a 13-year-old male, is scheduled to go to the Sri Vaidyanatha Swamy Temple in Nagapattinam, while Bijuli, a five-year-old female, is bound for the Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Gajashala in Kancheepuram.

Choudhury argued that these transfers are legally invalid because they have not been reviewed by the High-Powered Committee, which is headed by retired Justice Deepak Verma. Under current legal frameworks, Chief Wildlife Wardens can only issue travel permits for elephants on the recommendation of this committee, which is tasked with examining the health, transportation conditions, and the capacity of the receiving facilities.

Key numbers and concerns

In his letter, Choudhury raised broader concerns about how captive elephants are managed in Assam, where private individuals own 752 elephants. More than 300 of these animals lack formal ownership certificates or have unresolved paperwork.

"Whatever may be the grounds stated in the documentation, these transfers are actually sales," Choudhury said, adding that the Assam government was failing to regulate the trade.

Instead of sending the animals to southern temples, Choudhury suggested that owners who are no longer able to care for their elephants should surrender them to the state government under Section 42A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Assam's forest department already operates rehabilitation facilities that could house them.

What happens next

The dispute is the latest in a series of legal battles over the welfare of elephants sent from northeastern states to temples in the south. The Gauhati High Court recently directed the High-Powered Committee to examine the rehabilitation of nine Assam elephants whose travel permits had expired but who remained in Tamil Nadu. That directive followed a petition by the Assam government to secure the return of an elephant named Joymala, after animal welfare groups publicised footage of her allegedly being abused at a temple.

The committee is now being asked to verify the ownership of the five elephants, check whether they were captured from the wild or born in captivity, and determine whether their destinations are legally acceptable.