SC stays relocation of deer from Hauz Khas Deer Park in Delhi

The Supreme Court has restrained the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and other authorities from shifting the remaining deer from the A.N. Jha Deer Park in Hauz Khas, Delhi, to forest areas in Rajasthan and other states.

Passing an interim order on Wednesday (April 30), a bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed that no further translocation of deer shall take place for the time being and made it clear that the deer presently housed at Hauz Khas Deer Park shall be properly looked after by the concerned authorities.

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“For the time being, we restrain the respondents from shifting the existing deer out of the Deer Park at Hauz Khas, New Delhi. We also make it clear that the deer shall be properly looked after by the respondents,” the bench said in its order.

The notice is returnable on May 16, 2025. The petitioner, New Delhi Nature Society, has arrayed the Director of Horticulture, Member Secretary, DDA, the Chief Conservator of Forests, and the Chief Wildlife Warden as respondents in the matter.

The top court passed the interim order on a plea by the New Delhi Nature Society challenging the relocation of nearly 600 deer from the A.N. Jha Deer Park without complying with the requisite safeguards under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and other applicable laws.

The petitioner-society contended that the deer were being relocated without adequate habitat assessments, veterinary checks, or safeguards for vulnerable groups like pregnant deer, fawns, and juveniles. It alleged that the relocation amounted to converting domesticated animals into prey for large carnivores in predator-heavy sanctuaries of Rajasthan, including Sariska and Kumbhalgarh.

The petitioner, the New Delhi Nature Society, stated that three batches of deer had already been relocated from Hauz Khas deer park to Rajasthan, in violation of wildlife laws and without considering the survival risks posed to the deer, which have adapted to a semi-urban environment without natural predators.

The petitioner society further stated that the move to relocate the deer followed the Central Zoo Authority’s (CZA) decision withdrawing recognition of the A.N. Jha Deer Park as a ‘mini-zoo.’ However, the petitioner Society alleged that the DDA and the Forest Department treated the CZA’s withdrawal of recognition as a blanket authorisation to dismantle the Deer Park altogether, without following the due process mandated under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Criticising the methods employed for the relocation, the petitioner Society assailed the use of the “Boma method” — a funnel-like structure used to capture animals — as inappropriate, as it failed to provide for the segregation of antlered males, pregnant or nursing females, juveniles, or sick animals.

The plea also invoked provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, stating that using captive deer as prey for wild predators amounted to cruelty, prohibited under Section 11 of the Act.

The petition Society has cited an official communication from the Chief Wildlife Warden of Rajasthan requesting the supply of 550 deer from Delhi to “enhance the prey base” for large carnivores, indicating that the purpose of relocation was not conservation, but to supplement the food chain for predators in wildlife sanctuaries.

The New Delhi Nature Society argued that there was no ecological justification for moving the deer hundreds of kilometres to regions with established predator populations, and pointed to internal DDA communications showing discussions regarding the removal of deer even before all approvals were obtained.

The plea stated that the relocation was part of a larger plan to repurpose or erase the ecologically significant Deer Park at Hauz Khas, which serves as an important green space within the national capital.

Tracing the history of the matter, the petitioner informed the top court that the issue was earlier before the Delhi High Court, which, in 2023, had stayed the relocation and suggested that at least 50 deer be retained at Hauz Khas.

However, the High Court proceedings were later closed in July 2024 after the DDA submitted that 24 deer would be retained at Hauz Khas and the rest relocated after obtaining approval.

The petitioner Society has contended that the July 2024 order was passed without allowing the petitioner an opportunity to examine the DDA’s affidavit, and that the petitioner’s then-counsel had accepted the DDA’s position without seeking proper instructions.

The petitioner subsequently moved an application seeking recall of the July 2024 order, which was dismissed by the High Court in January 2025, leading the New Delhi Nature Society to approach the Supreme Court.

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