The court also questioned the reasoning behind naming the animals “Akbar” and “Sita”. (Representative)
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government to rename the lion “Akbar” and lioness “Sita”, whose names attracted controversy after both animals were placed in the same enclosure at the Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri.
The court was hearing a petition by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad seeking to change the name of the lioness recently brought to West Bengal from Tripura, Live Law reported.
The single judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya orally asked the state to avoid controversy and consider renaming the animals,
'Do you want to name a lion after a Hindu deity, a Muslim prophet or a Christian god, a freedom fighter or a Nobel Prize winner? In general, anyone who is revered or respected by the people of our country?' asked Justice Bhattacharyya.
The Additional Advocate General (AAG), representing West Bengal, told the court that the lions had been named in Tripura and the state itself was already considering renaming the lions.
The court also questioned the reasoning behind naming an animal after “a god, mythological hero, freedom fighter or Nobel laureate” and asked why the state did not challenge the names given by Tripura.
“You are a welfare state and it is a secular state. Why create controversy by naming a lion after Sita and Akbar? This controversy should have been avoided. Not only Sita, but I am also not in favor of naming a lion Akbar. He was a very efficient and noble Mughal emperor. Very successful and secular Mughal emperor. If it has a name at all, the state authority should shun and avoid it,” Justice Bhattacharyya said.
During the exchange, Judge Bhattacharyya also asked the AAG if he had any pets and if they were named after “national heroes”.
The court ordered Vishwa Hindu Parishad's petition to be reclassified as a public interest litigation (PIL) and referred to a regular court that can hear PILs.
