A Supreme Court order relocating an elephant to a care facility in Vantara has sparked public outrage in Maharashtra and put the state government in a difficult position.
On Sunday, August 3, Kolhapur witnessed a massive turnout as thousands of people walked in silent protest to bring back 36-year-old elephant Mahadevi, also known as Madhuri, from NGO Vantara's wildlife rehabilitation facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Vantara is run by businessman Anant Ambani and it is a sprawling wildlife rescue and rehab centre home to over 150,000 rescued animals.
Madhuri was a resident of the Swastishree Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sanstthan Math, a Jain monastery, at Nandani village in Karvir in Kolhapur district.
She was in the news in 2017 when she killed the chief priest of the math by slamming him against the wall.
Later, she was kept in chains on the premise of the temple and occasionally went on tours across Maharashtra for religious processions.
In 2023, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) moved the Bombay high court against the alleged ill-treatment of Madhuri and wanted her to be shifted to a sanctuary.
Their argument was Madhuri's health was deteriorating and her foot was rotting, which was painful.
They also stated that Madhuri had overgrown nails and suffered from arthritis.
The high court ordered on July 16, 2025 that Madhuri should be rehabilitated at Vantara's Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust in Jamnagar due to her deteriorating health condition.
In its order, the court said, 'We have no doubt that the petitioner-math may have had no deliberate intent to cause injury to the elephant; however, in the given circumstances of conflict between the rights of an elephant and the rights of petitioner-math to use the elephant in the discharge of its religious activities, priority must be given to the elephant's welfare.'
The Jain math challenged the high court order in the Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict on July 25.
Post the Supreme Court order, Madhuri was shifted to Vantara last week.
This resulted in protests across Kolhapur to bring Madhuri back to the Jain math.
Seeing the scale of protest, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis intervened and his office stated, 'There is significant public sentiment in favour of returning the elephant to the monastery and legal steps will be taken accordingly.'
The CM urged the Nandani math to include the state government as a party in its (future) petition (to the courts), while the forest department will also present an independent and detailed stand before the apex court.
'Taking into consideration the traditions of Nandani math and the emotional bond of local people with Madhuri, we will pursue all legal avenues to bring her back. The state will also form a dedicated team, including veterinary experts, to ensure the elephant's welfare,' Fadnavis stated.
On Wednesday, he further stated that Vantara will support the state government's petition in the Supreme Court to take Madhuri back to the Kolhapur math.
Meanwhile, Vantara posted pictures of Madhuri on its Instagram account where she is enjoying nature and also posted a video.
On Monday, Vantara issued a statement, stating, 'Vantara did not initiate or request the relocation of the elephant named Mahadevi (Madhuri) from a monastery in Kolhapur to its facility in Jamnagar but served only as the 'court-appointed recipient facility.'