Bombay High Court refuses to lift ban on capture and exhibition of snakes for festival

The Bombay High Court on Friday disposed off a public interest litigation (PIL), which sought to reverse a previous order banning the capture and exhibition of snakes on Nag Panchami. The festival will be celebrated next week.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjulla Chellur and Justice NM Jamdar, while disposing off the petition filed by Pradeep Joshi, said that the court had already decided on the issue. They added that the order can be reviewed, provided some new ground is raised in the petition filed.

The PIL claimed that the high court, in its earlier order, had not properly appreciated the document in Gazetteer of District Sangli, published by the government. The petition also states that the festival is being celebrated over several years and thus it is part of the tradition.

The court had ordered the ban based on a petition filed by Ajit Patil, an animal activist from Sangli district, on July 15, 2014. Citing references to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the court rejected Battis Shirala's opposition to the ban, a town in Sangli where the festival is popular.

Before the one day festival, snake groups and volunteers capture snakes from nearby forests that are stored and later displayed. As per belief, the cobra snake has a special significance in Hindu mythology.