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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to file a short affidavit in a plea raising issue of the decline in the population of vultures in India.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Saurabh Banerjee was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed by Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal raising concern over the issue of the decline in number of vultures in India.

The counsel for the Centre contended that this petition has now become "infructuous". "There were two drugs which the petitioner sought banning of, because of the fact that they were fed to the Cattles. So, the expert committee has now recommended to the central government that these two drugs should be banned. Now the due process will fall under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act because the recommendation is being sent to the Ministry now. They'll come with a notification if the ministry agrees and thereafter so and so....", he submitted.

Advocate Gaurav Bansal, the petitioner-in-person, contended that there is also a need for an effective mechanism for safety testing of the drugs on wildlife. 

Accordingly, court said, "Centre is directed to file a short affidavit. Lists the matter for September 1".

Notably, the court in December 2022, had directed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to take steps for protection and conservation of vultures in the plea. It had asked CDSCO to take proper steps for banning the drugs which are responsible for the decline in the vulture population in India. 

The court had taken serious note of the fact that the population of vultures has declined by more than 97% because of the veterinary use of NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) like Diclofenac, Aceclofenac, Ketoprofen, Nimesulide, etc.

Bansal had informed the court that even the Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had publically stated that due to the sharp decline in the vulture population, its population had come down from 40 million to just 19,000 in a span of over three decades.

"It is clear from the statement of the Minister that in the last 30 years around 4 crores vultures have died which means that around 13 Lakh vultures lost their lives every year, which further implies that India is witnessing around 1 lakh mortality of vultures every month because of toxic drugs", Bansal had submitted.

Bansal had alleged that the government of India is ignoring its own comments which were made in various committees at the National and International levels, and it is not banning the said toxic drugs which are harmful to vultures, an endangered species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature and listed in Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Case Title: Gaurav Kumar Bansal Vs. Union of India & Ors.

Statue: The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972