As Tribute To Dog Killed By Human Cruelty, Kerala High Court Renames Suo Moto Case "In Re Bruno"
"We feel that this would be a fitting tribute to the hapless dog that succumbed to acts of human cruelty, and disturbed by which incident we had initiated these proceedings"
The suo moto proceedings initiated by the Kerala High Court for the protection of animal rights in the State was renamed to In Re: Bruno in memory of the hapless dog that succumbed to the inhuman acts of three youngsters. In a heartwarming gesture, a Division Bench of Justices Jayasankaran Nambiar and P Gopinath directed the Registry to rename the writ in memory of the dog, apart...
In a heartwarming gesture, a Division Bench of Justices Jayasankaran Nambiar and P Gopinath directed the Registry to rename the writ in memory of the dog, apart from using suggestions to promote animal welfare in the State.
"To begin with, we direct the Registry to rename this writ petition as "In Re: Bruno (Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation Proceedings initiated by the High Court in the matter of executive and legislative inaction of the State Government in the matter of Protection of Animal Rights)". We feel that this would be a fitting tribute to the hapless dog that succumbed to acts of human cruelty, and disturbed by which incident we had initiated these proceedings," the order passed today said."
Background:
The Kerala High Court had registered a suo motu PIL yesterday to monitor state action in reported instances of cruelty to animals and in the matter o prevention of cruelty to animals. Following this, notices were issued to the Centre, State and Animal Welfare Board of India respectively.
This came after Justice Jayasankaran Nambiar addressed a letter to the CJI urging to take cognizance of a news report of three minors perpetrating the inhuman killing of a dog on a beach in Thiruvananthapuram. Although a police case had been registered in the matter, the letter emphasized the prosecution in related matters was seldom purposive and expeditious.
The primary concern expressed in the letter was that the Indian legislations for protection of animals were founded on the premise of superiority of human species over all others
In the said letter, it was stated that time has now come to push the State and its instrumentalities into taking affirmative action to safeguard the rights of Animals. It had elaborated on several instances where the judiciary had upheld such rights for the welfare of animals.
Directions passed by the bench
The Court has directed the Kerala State Animal Welfare State (KSAWS) to file a report before the court as regards the action taken till date on the complaint received from the owner of the dog, Bruno.
The court urged the Director-General of Prosecution, to bestow his personal attention in the matter and ensure that the wheels of the criminal justice system are set in motion to bring to book the perpetrators of the crime.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has been asked by the court to draw up a feasible action plan towards implementing an awareness campaign to educate and sensitize citizens on the rights of animals and the corresponding duties and obligations required of them.
"We believe that immediate steps in this regard are required to initiate a change in the attitude of our citizenry to the welfare of animals so that gruesome incidents, such as those reported in the media in recent times, do not recur in future", the court said.
The Court ordered the state government to explore the possibility of promoting and holding animal adoption camps throughout the state, at periodic intervals of not less than thrice a year, where persons can be encouraged to adopt animals that have been abandoned by their owners, and are left to wander in the streets in search of food and shelter. Besides, it asked the government to explore the possibility of entrusting the District Administrations across the State, with the power to enquire into complaints of infringement of animal rights and cruelty to animals, as also instances where persons are prevented from keeping pets of their choice in their residential apartments
"Our sole endeavour will be to alert the State Executive to the circumstances in which, and the extent to which, it will be required to act in discharge of its constitutional and statutory obligations. We believe that a meaningful effectuation of rights can be achieved only when the different branches of Government work in concert, and it is this cooperation that we expect in the course of these proceedings", the court said.