The Supreme Court on Monday cleared Reliance Foundation-owned Vantara of all allegations of smuggling, money laundering and violation of statutory laws in sourcing animals and held that no court or administrative forum in the country will entertain any complaint or proceedings on these allegations in future.
The order of the court was based on a special investigation team (SIT) report chaired by former Supreme Court judge Jasti Chelameswar along with three other members, who gave a clean chit to Vantara (Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre) based in Gujarat’s Jamnagar. The court formed the SIT on August 25 following two petitions filed by lawyer CR Jaya Sukin and one Dev Sharma seeking an independent enquiry into the functioning of Vantara based on newspaper reports.
The bench of justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale said, “The court has no hesitation in accepting the conclusion so drawn in the report. Thus, as no contravention of law has been reported by the SIT, the complaints particularly those listed in Schedule A in the summary of the report stand closed.”
The SIT, also comprising former high court chief justice Raghavendra Chauhan, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale, and Additional Commissioner, Customs, Anish Gupta, submitted its report on September 12 in a sealed cover. The report was opened in court on Monday following which the court passed the orders and dismissed the petitions.
{{/usCountry}}The SIT, also comprising former high court chief justice Raghavendra Chauhan, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale, and Additional Commissioner, Customs, Anish Gupta, submitted its report on September 12 in a sealed cover. The report was opened in court on Monday following which the court passed the orders and dismissed the petitions.
{{/usCountry}}Giving a clean chit for all times to come, the bench said, “No further complaint or proceedings based upon such same set of allegations shall be entertained before any judicial statutory or administrative forum to secure finality, obviate repetitive inquiries and investigation on issues concluded by SIT.”
The SIT conducted field visits and took help of multiple Central and State agencies, regulatory and enforcement bodies to come to the conclusion that there is no violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines, Customs Act, 1962, Foreign Trade (Regulation and development) Act, 1992, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Senior advocate Harish Salve who appeared for Vantara told the court, “There is some degree of commercial confidentiality that has to be maintained. This facility is one of its kind in the world. We do not want that tomorrow there are reports appearing in the New York Times and others. We must have a decent burial on this issue.”
The court in its order said, “Vantara in the past has been subjected to judicial scrutiny a number of times and the allegations were rejected most of the times at every level/forum. Accordingly, to permit the cycle of speculative complaints or petitions to continue despite such authoritative determinations in the past would be wholly unjustified and an abuse of the process.”
Later in the day, Vantara issued a statement welcoming the decision of the SIT and the court. “The SIT’s report and the Supreme Court’s order have made it clear that the doubts and allegations raised against Vantara’s animal welfare mission were without any basis.” The statement further said, “The validation of the truth by the distinguished and widely respected members of the SIT is not just a relief for everyone at Vantara but also a blessing, because it allows our work to speak for itself. The SIT’s findings and the Apex Court’s order give us further strength and encouragement to continue serving with humility and devotion to those who cannot speak for themselves.”
On the charge of smuggling of animals, the court said, “It is pertinent to mention that repeated inquiries into the affairs of Vantara pursuant to multiple complaints/petitions filed from time to time have culminated with findings of no violation of law whatsoever. Thus, there is apparently no merit in any of the allegations of animal smuggling or laundering.”
On the allegations of misuse of carbon credits, water resources, or financial impropriety, the SIT dismissed them as “baseless” relying upon responses from agencies like CBI, DRI and ED. On the money laundering charge, the SIT took expert assistance from ED Deputy Director who clarified there is no breach of provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The SIT also deprecated the allegations and aspersions cast upon the statutory authorities, court appointed high powered committee and also on the courts specifically, leveled by the petitioners who alleged that no authority is willing to entertain complaints against Vantara.
The SIT also found that the receipt of animals by Vantara by rescuing them from various situations and housing them in the rescue centre for conservation, and breeding programs have gone through a complex multi-layered statutory approvals, procedure and documentation.
The court was convinced by the SIT report that found the animal welfare Vantara at Vantara “exceed prescribed benchmark” and the mortality figures align with the global zoological averages.
The court left it open for Vantara to pursue legal remedies against any offending publication and while appreciating the SIT for its “promptness” in submitting the report within stipulated time, directed the Centre to release a remuneration of ₹9 lakh each to the chairman and two SIT members (except the one member who is a serving officer) within two weeks.