The High Court, which has issued a set of directions to regulate the parading/exhibition of elephants in the state, noted in the order that the possession of the majority of the elephants in Kerala appears to be illegal, and it has to be verified by the state government. The Court observed that there was difference in the name of the owner and name of the custodian of the captive elephants.

HC has also quoted figures to drive home the point that captive elephants are being exploited for commercial gains, unmindful of their well-being. "Nearly 33 per cent of total number of recorded captive elephants have died between 2018 and 2024. Thus there has been a significant reduction in the captive elephant population in the state, this is a cause of serious concern," HC said in the order. 

V K Venkitachalam, Secretary, Heritage Animal Task Force said that it was for the first time the HC has made such a grave observation regarding ownership of captive elephants in Kerala. In a detailed note on ownership of captive elephants, the HC bench comprising A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Gopinath P also said that the Supreme Court had directed Kerala to conduct a verification and in the absence of declaration and certificate under relevant sections of the act, appropriate actions must be taken. However, the Kerala government only issued an order giving further amnesty, the HC cited in the order.

"An updated list of captive elephants as on 23.08.2024 submitted by the Forest Department, shows 388 captive elephants out of which 349 are with private persons. Many of the elephants, on the list have no ownership certificate. The name of the custodian and the name of the owner are different as per the ownership certificate/ microchip certificate. As such, the possession of the majority of the elephants appears to be illegal, which needs to be verified by the Government," the HC said in the order.

It is now an admitted position that a good number of elephants in Kerala do not have ownership certificates. Whether the elephants which have been given ownership certificates are those hunted in accordance with the provisions of the Act is doubtful. No such verification, regarding the existence of orders to hunt, and to keep the animal in captivity, issued by CWLW ( Chief Wildlife warden) of the respective State, appears to be done by the State Government of Kerala. The fact that there are many elephants without ownership certificates was noticed by the Honourable Supreme Court,according to the order.

The High Court has cited in the order that being a Schedule I animal, for an elephant to be kept in captivity, there needs to be two written orders of the CWLW, one permitting to hunt, and the other to keep in captivity. An elephant found in captivity without specific permission is held in captivity in violation of the provision. Either way, every elephant in captivity in India, is to be considered as government property. Thus, no person can in fact own an elephant in the strict sense of the term ‘ownership’.