Madhuri was taken to the Vantara centre in Jamnagar on July 30, 2025, in compliance with the directions of the High-Powered Committee (HPC). The decision was subsequently upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.
After her removal, a prolonged battle was fought at various levels to bring Madhuri back to Nandani. Demands were also made before the government for her return. The Supreme Court directed the concerned parties to present their respective positions before the High-Powered Committee, and that process continued for several days.
After hearing all the parties, seeking reports and inspecting the facilities at Nandani, the High-Powered Committee issued a detailed order on September 9, 2026. Under the order, Madhuri was permitted to return to Kolhapur subject to several stringent conditions.
The conditions prohibit the use of Madhuri in processions or for any other purpose. She must receive round-the-clock care, and a veterinary examination must be conducted every fortnight.
Vantara has said that Madhuri's health has stabilised following continuous veterinary treatment. However, her long-term health problems remain and require appropriate treatment, supportive management and regular veterinary supervision. According to an ANI report, Vantara has also said it will continue to take responsibility for Madhuri's health even after her return to Kolhapur.
Vantara is also providing suitable accommodation, veterinary facilities, medical equipment, medicines and other materials for her.
The story concerns the village of Nandani in Shirol taluka and its elephant 'Mahadevi', also known by some as 'Madhuri'. She had lived at a Jain monastery in the village since 1992.
Following a major controversy and a prolonged legal battle, the elephant had to leave the home where she had lived for 33 years and was taken towards Gujarat.
The matter went through the High-Powered Committee dealing with the care and transfer of wild animals, the High Court and finally the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court delivered its final judgment on July 28. Following the ruling, the elephant had to be taken to Vantara, a care centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, operated by Reliance Foundation.
Mahadevi was taken from Nandani to Jamnagar by officials of the Forest Department and Vantara and handed over to the Radhekrishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, which is part of Vantara.
The village continued its efforts to keep the elephant in Nandani. Residents took to the streets in protests, confronted government authorities and eventually approached the country's Supreme Court. But after a 33-year relationship, the elephant and the village were separated.
The legal battle over Mahadevi, or Madhuri, and her transfer to Gujarat began around 2020 while she was staying at the Nandani monastery.
Activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, an organisation working for the care and rights of wild animals, complained to the High-Powered Committee in Delhi responsible for the care and transfer of wild animals, alleging that the elephant was not being properly cared for at the monastery.
According to the petition filed by the monastery before the Supreme Court, the High-Powered Committee took cognisance of the complaint in December 2023 and suggested to the Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra that the elephant be transferred to the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, part of Vantara, in Gujarat.
In April 2024, the Nandani monastery approached the Bombay High Court against the High-Powered Committee's order. After admitting the petition, the court stayed the transfer of the elephant to Gujarat.
Thereafter, in accordance with the High Court's directions, examinations and inspections were carried out over an extended period by expert committees and veterinary officials. The monastery claimed that veterinary officials had submitted reports during this period stating that the elephant's health was improving and that health certificates had been submitted before the committee and the court from time to time.
However, on July 16, after disposing of the petition filed by the trust of the Nandani monastery, the High Court upheld the High-Powered Committee's June 3, 2025 decision to transfer the elephant to Gujarat.
The order also directed that Mahadevi be transferred to the Radhekrishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, which is part of Vantara.
The trust of Swastishree Jinssen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sansthan Math then approached the Supreme Court against the decision. The trust, however, did not succeed there either.
On July 28, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment. Within a few hours, Mahadevi was taken to Vantara in Gujarat.
Mahadevi's relationship with Nandani dates back decades. The Swastishree Jinssen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sansthan Math has existed in Nandani village in Shirol taluka for several centuries.
Devotees from 743 villages, mainly in the border areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka, are connected with the monastery and have faith in its chief Swami.
The monastery had custody of Mahadevi, and it continued the legal battle as the petitioner all the way to the Supreme Court. The monastery said that the elephant had been part of several religious traditions there for years.
In its petition before the Supreme Court, the monastery stated that there had been a tradition of keeping an elephant at the nearly 1,300-year-old monastery, saying that an elephant had always been kept there and properly cared for.
Following this tradition, the elephant at the centre of the dispute was brought to the monastery in 1992 and named Mahadevi. She was also known as Madhuri. According to the monastery and villagers, she had become part of the local community.
Mahadevi was taken through the village during religious ceremonies and processions. For people across the surrounding villages, she had become an identity of Nandani.
She was important as the present representative of a tradition that the monastery had kept alive for centuries, but she was also regarded as one of the villagers at other times.
Those emotions surfaced when the time came to bid farewell to Mahadevi.
A procession was taken out from the village as part of her farewell ceremony. The emotions had intensified because of the struggle that had continued for several years to keep her in Nandani. As the situation became uncontrollable during the farewell, local police had to resort to mild lathi-charge.
A similar situation had emerged earlier on July 16, when the High Court ruled against the monastery's petition. After reports spread that the elephant was being taken to Gujarat immediately, hundreds of people from nearby villages came onto the roads.
They wanted to block the road through which Mahadevi was to be taken away. The protests reflected the affection and anger that had developed around the elephant over the years.
The situation became so charged that political leaders also became involved, while some leaders chose to maintain silence.
Mahadevi, now known as Madhuri in the village, has returned to Nandani after the prolonged legal and administrative battle. On Friday night, residents welcomed her back with celebrations, marking the return of an elephant that had remained closely associated with the village for 33 years.
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