The country’s highest court has stepped into the storm swirling around Vantara, the Reliance Foundation’s wildlife rescue and rehabilitation project in Jamnagar. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to examine charges ranging from illegal animal acquisitions to financial irregularities.
Heading this SIT is retired Supreme Court judge Justice Jasti Chelameswar, joined by former Uttarakhand and Telangana Chief Justice Raghavendra Chauhan, ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale, and senior IRS officer Anish Gupta.
The order came from Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale, acting on petitions that paint a troubling picture—claims of elephants and other animals brought in unlawfully, allegations of poor treatment, questions over compliance with wildlife protection laws, and whispers of money laundering.
The judges, however, were candid in observing that most of these claims rest on media reports, NGO complaints, and social media chatter, without hard proof. Yet, since the accusations touch statutory authorities like the Central Zoo Authority and even international conventions such as CITES, the court felt an independent, high-level probe was unavoidable.
The SIT’s mandate is vast: from scrutinising animal imports and exports, checking compliance with the Wildlife (Protection) Act, veterinary care, and mortality rates, to examining charges of creating a vanity collection, misuse of resources like water and carbon credits, and even broader concerns of wildlife smuggling and financial misdeeds.
Authorities at every level—the Central Zoo Authority, CITES Management Authority, the Environment Ministry, and the Gujarat government—have been directed to fully cooperate. The team has also been asked to physically inspect the Vantara facility.
The court was careful to note that this move is purely fact-finding, not a judgment on guilt or innocence. The SIT’s findings, due by September 12, will guide the next steps when the case is taken up again on September 15.
Vantara, founded by Anant Ambani and inaugurated last year by the Prime Minister, was envisioned as a haven for distressed animals. For now, its reputation faces the sharpest scrutiny yet.
