On Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court addressed a petition filed by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) regarding the naming of a lioness at Siliguri's Safari Park as 'SITA.'

The matter was heard by a single bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya. The petitioners contended that they sought a directive preventing the naming of animals after deities. They expressed concern that allowing such naming practices could lead to derogatory actions, including naming animals after religious figures like donkeys.

Upon considering the plea, the bench drew attention to the lion being traditionally associated with the Goddess Durga, remarking, "It may be named out of affection, we worship lions during Durga Puja. It depends on the mental orientation of the person. Can we imagine Durga without a lion?"

The counsel representing the petitioners argued that the presence of a lion at the feet of Goddess Durga symbolized its role in combating evil from all directions, emphasizing that the lion itself was not assigned any specific name. In response, the bench observed that the VHP's plea resembled a public interest litigation (PIL) and thus should be converted into one. It was then directed to be placed before the bench responsible for handling PILs.

The advocate representing the petitioner contended that the rights of individuals belonging to a specific religious group had been violated, suggesting that recourse could be sought under Article 226 of the Constitution in such instances. Furthermore, it was brought to attention that significant confusion surrounded the naming of the lioness, which was part of a pair originally from Tripura Zoo.

The petitioners argued that the authorities at Tripura Zoo had not officially named the lions. They referred to a media report stating that the State Zoological department had named the lion Akbar and the lioness Sita, but the State was avoiding responsibility and claiming that the pair had not been named. In response to these arguments, the Court instructed the State counsel to seek clarification on whether or not the lions had indeed been named. The matter was then adjourned for further hearing at a later date.

Case: VISWA HINDU PARISAD AND ORS. v STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS Case No: WPA 360/2024