- (1.) In these writ petitions preferred under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners, Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, the Animal Welfare Board of India, Gauri Maulekhi, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals India and Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations, have prayed for an appropriate writ, order or direction for quashing Notification No.G.S.R.13(E) dated 7th January, 2016, published by the respondent, the Union of India, in The Gazette of India; Extraordinary, and further to command the respondent to ensure compliance with the law laid down in Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja and Others, 2014 7 SCC 547, and to pass such other order as may be deemed necessary. There is a prayer for stay of the impugned Notification.
(2.) We have heard Mr. C.A. Sundaram, Mr. Sidharth Luthra, Mr. K.K. Venugopal, Mr. Anand Grover, Mr. R. Venkataramani, Mr. Dushyant A. Dave, learned senior counsel along with Ms. Anjali Sharma, learned counsel and other learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, learned Attorney General for the Union of India, Mr. L.N. Rao and Mr. Shekhar Naphade, learned senior counsel for the State of Tamil Nadu and Mr. Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, learned counsel for the State of Maharashtra.
(3.) The present case has a history to narrate. The Central Government had issued a Notification on 11th July, 2011. The said Notification read as follows: "MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 11th July, 2011 G.S.R. 528(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960), and in supersession of the Notification of the Government of India in the erstwhile Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment No. G.S.R. 619 (E), dated 14-10-1998, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government, hereby specifies the the following animals shall not be exhibited or trained as performing animals, with effect from the date of publication of this notification, namely :- 1. Bears 2. Monkeys 3. Tigers 4. Panthers 5. Lions 6. Bulls [F.No.27-1/2011-AWD] ANJANI KUMAR, Director(AW)";