Chhattisgarh High Court ordered the state government to reply on the Sonu Elephant case by March 15.

Dispatch News.
Bilaspur. In the Sonu elephant case, Chhattisgarh High Court Justice Rajni Dubey requested a response from the state government by March 15 on why the government did not act against the perpetrators who held elephants hostage in the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve. While hearing a writ petition in 2015, the court observed that the perpetrators violated the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests issued orders in 2015 to capture and rehabilitate a 12-year-old male elephant roaming in the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve forest area; however, the Reserve officials kept the elephant captive. The elephant sustained injuries in captivity. A petition was filed in court demanding the rehabilitation of the elephant and its treatment. After filing the petition, the Animal Welfare Board of India sent a team of experts to treat the elephant. The forest officials named the elephant Sonu. Because of the forest officials, the elephant is now cared for at the Tamor Pingla Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
Despite an order to rehabilitate Sonu, the elephant in the forest area, the then Field Director Tapesh Jha and Deputy Director VMatheswar kept it captive, which was reported to the government by petitioner Vyas Muni Dwivedi, who claimed the officers transgressed Section 11 of the Act. The Animal Welfare Board team also mentioned in its report that Section 11 of the Act had been violated. Significantly, under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, there is a provision for a punishment of 3–7 years for such crimes.
The complaint was investigated by the then Chief Conservator of Forests (Eco Tourism), HL Ratray. The petitioner again complained that the investigative officer is trying to save the guilty and mislead the government. The complaint was investigated for the second time by Arun Kumar Pandey, then APCCF (Wildlife).
Following an investigation, the petitioner informed the Forest Minister that both investigating officers submitted incorrect investigation reports to save the guilty officers and mislead the government. For this reason, the action was demanded by the Minister of the Forest Department, and the Minister recommended that action be taken as per the recommendation of the Animal Welfare Board.

After the recommendation of the Forest Minister, the Chhattisgarh Forest Department first wrote a letter to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) on January 22, 2021, saying that no opinion had been given regarding the Wildlife (Protection) Act in the investigation report by him and ordering that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) provide his revised investigation report, in which a clear opinion or conclusion should be given as to whether Section 11 of the Wildlife Protection Act has been violated or not. The government has issued several reminder letters in this regard.

The petitioner has urged the court to direct the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) to complete the investigation, take action against the guilty officers, and order the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Deputy Director Achanakmar Tiger Reserve to give their clear opinion on Section 11. The court has ordered the government to submit its reply before March 15.