Delhi High Court: In a batch of petitions regarding the ‘monkey menace’ in New Delhi, a Division Bench of Manmohan, CJ. and Tushar Rao Gedela, J. directed the Chief Secretary, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (‘GNCTD’) to hold a meeting and to shift the monkeys from Delhi to Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.
Background
In pursuance to the last order passed by this Court in the present matter, the Deputy Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Personal Disabilities, the Animal Husbandry Commissioner and Chairman (Animal Welfare Board of India) (‘AWBI’), and the Secretary of AWBI stood before the Court.
Analysis and Decision
The Court said that a person with a disability has the fundamental right to move on the streets of Delhi without the fear of being attacked by stray monkeys and dogs.
The Court stated that Delhi is no longer a safe city for pedestrians with hundreds of rabis bites everyday due to the careless attitude of some members of the society. The Court questioned the actions of the people who get food from home and feed it to dogs as well as monkeys in public parks making it unsafe for small children, disabled people, and the elderly.
The Court took judicial notice that roadside restaurants, canteens, and even Bhandaras outside large government hospitals like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (‘AIIMS’) etc. leave huge amounts of left-over food on pavements for monkeys and dogs, which creates a dangerous situation for the patients and their relatives.
The Court also took note of many ‘self-styled do gooders’ who have created a system of filling their vans with cooked food and they down-load the same on the pavements, parks, and public offices across the city, which has resulted into more that two hundred monkeys in various public places along with every day cases of assault on hapless citizens.
The Court remarked that if Delhi wished to be a world class city — we all must behave like world class citizens and the civic agencies must become more proactive in setting world class ethics and ways of co-existing with urban biodiversity.
The Court directed the Chief Secretary, GNCTD of the to convene a meeting on 04-11-2024 at 4:30 PM at his office which must be attended by the heads of MCD, NDMC, Delhi Cantonment Board, Forest Department (GNCTD), Animal Husbandry Department (GNCTD), Secretary of the Animal Welfare Board, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Personal Disabilities, the Animal Husbandry Commissioner and Chairman (AWBI), Secretary, AWBI and the Legal team of AWBI.
The Chief Secretary, GNCTD was given the liberty to hold more than one meeting.
Further, the Court directed the monkeys to be shifted from Delhi to Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary and said that these directions were to be implemented on priority by NDMC, MCD, Delhi Cantonment Board, and Department of Forest. The Court clarified that the same must be done under supervision of wildlife officers or local animal experts to ensure that there is no instance of undue harm to animals.
The Court emphasized that the animals were paying a penalty for the careless and negligent behaviour of us humans.
The Chief Secretary, GNCTD and the respondents were directed to file a fresh status report before the next hearing which will take place on 18-11-2024.
[Nyaya Bhoomi v. Government (NCT of Delhi), 2024 SCC OnLine Del 7546, Decided on 25-10-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner — Mr. Sumit Kumar, Dr. L.S. Chaudhary, Dr. Ajay Chaudhary, Mr. Bharat Chaudhary, Mr. Vikram Singh, Mr. Gaurav Gupta, and Mr. Taha Bin Tasneem.
For Respondents — SC Santosh Kr. Tripathi, ASC Karn Bhardwaj, Advocate Rajat Gaba, Advocate Shubham Singh, Advocate Saurabh Dahiya, Advocate Ajjay Aroraa, Advocate Kapail Dutta, SC Srinarsha Peechara, Advocate Akshat Kulshreshtha, Advocate D.S. Bhanu, Sr. Advocate Percival Billimoria, Advocate Jasmine Damkewala, Advocate Saurabh Malhotra, Advocate Prem Sood, Advocate Vaishali Sharma, Advocate Tushar Bathija, Advocate Rachita Sood, Advocate Divyam Khera, Advocate Esha Dutta, Advocate Shaalini Agrawal, Advocate Siddharth Pandey .
