Time immemorial, fundamental rights have come to the rescue of all living things including animals and birds. The Indian constitution has taken under its wings every harmed soul whose basic humane right has been infringed. The Apex Court in Animal Welfare Board v. A. Nagaraja & Ors as reported in MANU/ SC/ 0426/ 2014 have recognized the fundamental right of every animal to live with dignity and have had also imposed stringent conditions upon the Government and its authorities to stop any form of cruelty upon Animals. In the said case, the apex court held that bulls cannot be used as performing animals either for Jallikattu events or for any Bullock-cart Races in State of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere in country. It is this backdrop, the principles of fundamental rights are again being reinforced and this time, it is Delhi High Court which has unclipped the wings of caged birds.
Justice Manmohan Singh of the Delhi High court in People for Animals v. Md. Mohazzim as reported in 2015 SCC OnLine Del 9508 have observed that running the trade of birds was in violation to the fundamental rights of the Birds. The court while issuing notice to the alleged respondent owner observed that birds have a fundamental right to live with dignity and they cannot be subjected to any form cruelty by anyone including the alleged owner of the birds. The courts observed that the birds will have to be set free in sky and cannot be caged. This petition was being heard against the trial court order which had allowed the return of birds to the alleged respondent owner despite upon arriving at categorical findings that the respondent was not the owner of the birds since they were not exotic. The birds were released to alleged respondent owner on superdari basis on the ground that respondent had not committed any cruelty on the birds and respondent cannot be denied to the property that he is otherwise entitled to. In response to the said trial court's order, the court observed that birds cannot be caged and they have a fundamental right to fly. The court also observed that these birds were being caged and exported illegally to foreign countries without any care and without being provided with any food and medication. The court took into account the pictures of birds taken from the shop of the respondent wherein the birds were kept in cages. The question as to whether the wings or tails of the birds were clipped or cut could not be answered. The matter has been put for hearing on May, 28, 2015.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.