The Kerala High Court on Wednesday initiated contempt of court proceedings against Raghu Raman, an officer of the Cochin Devaswom Board, for allegedly breaching court-mandated norms during the elephant parade at the Poornathrayeesa Temple festival in Tripunithura.
A Division Bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P observed that violations occurred on December 2 during the festival, held from November 29 to December 6.
Advertisement
The court rejected the explanation provided by the Devaswom officer, who attributed the violations to crowd mismanagement and heavy rain. His affidavit stated that these factors led to deviations from the court’s directive to maintain a three-meter minimum distance between elephants during temple rituals.
Expressing grave dissatisfaction, the Bench emphasized the importance of public safety and elephant welfare. The court noted that the officer had failed to comply with its directives, specifically aimed at preventing crowding and ensuring the safety of both devotees and elephants.
“The officer completely disregarded the safety of people in the temple premises that day, putting their lives in danger. For this conduct, we find there cannot be any valid justification. Prima facie, we are of the view that the Devaswom officer has committed an act of civil contempt,” the court stated.
The Bench highlighted that 15 elephants had been crowded into a small space, violating the guidelines requiring a three-meter distance between them.
“Who told you to violate the directions of the court? You will not have the courage to do so unless you have backing from someone,” Justice Jayasankaran Nambiar remarked.
The court directed its Registry to issue a notice to the Devaswom officer under the Contempt of Courts Act.
“We therefore direct the Registry to formally register a contempt of court case and to issue a notice to the Devaswom officer forthwith, so that he can respond to the same on or before January 9, 2025,” the court ordered.
The matter has been posted for further consideration on January 9, 2025.
