Elephant Madhuri, Known as Mahadevi, Returns to Kolhapur's Nandani Math After 409 Days Under Court-Ordered Welfare Conditions

KOLHAPUR - Thousands of people lined the road from Kini Toll Plaza to Gandhi Chowk in Nandani village in the early hours of Saturday, September 12, waiting past midnight for a glimpse of an elephant many in Kolhapur district have known since she was a calf. When the animal ambulance carrying her finally reached the crossing around 1:30 am, devotees showered it with flowers. Homes along the route had been decorated with rangolis. Madhuri - known locally as Mahadevi - was home.

Her return to the Swastishri Bhattaraka Pattacharya Mahaswami Sansthan Math, a Jain religious institution in Nandani village in Karvir taluka, Kolhapur district, ended an absence of roughly 409 days, according to reporting by the Free Press Journal and The Logical Indian. Madhuri had been at the math for more than three decades, having lived there since she was about three years old, according to PETA India, which has tracked her case closely.

Why She Was Moved, and Where

Madhuri was transferred out of Kolhapur on July 30, 2025, to Vantara's Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT) in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The move followed a Bombay High Court order dated July 16, 2025, which upheld a decision by the Supreme Court–appointed High-Powered Committee (HPC), dated June 3, 2025, directing that she be rehabilitated at the Gujarat facility. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld that order as well, according to statements from Vantara and PETA India and reporting by the Deccan Herald.

The transfer followed years of documented concern about Madhuri's physical condition. According to statements from PETA India, which had raised the case with the Maharashtra Forest Department and the HPC, independent veterinarians - including an HPC-appointed sub-committee headed by Dr. N.S. Manoharan and former Maharashtra additional principal chief conservator of forests Dr. V. Clement Ben - had documented grade-4 arthritis, chronic foot rot, overgrown nails and cracked footpads, along with stereotypic behaviours such as head-bobbing and swaying, which veterinary experts associate with psychological distress in captive elephants. Those clinical findings are attributed to the named veterinary sources and PETA India's public statements; they have not been independently verified by this publication beyond the organisations' own releases.

The case had drawn wider attention in part because of an incident in 2017, when, according to Deccan Herald's reporting, Madhuri killed the math's chief priest by repeatedly slamming him against a wall - an episode PETA India has pointed to as evidence of the psychological toll of her living conditions.

The Path Back to Kolhapur

Madhuri's relocation to Gujarat prompted sustained public pressure in Kolhapur, including a large silent march reported by Deccan Herald, and drew the attention of state politicians. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at a meeting in Mumbai that his government would make efforts to secure her return, according to Deccan Herald's reporting at the time.

The HPC subsequently heard arguments from the parties, sought reports, and inspected the facility prepared for Madhuri at Nandani before issuing a reasoned order on September 9, 2026, permitting her return to Kolhapur under strict conditions, according to statements released by Vantara and confirmed in multiple news reports, including ANI and The Logical Indian. Under those conditions, Madhuri cannot be used in processions or for any other activity; she must receive round-the-clock care; and she must undergo a veterinary medical examination every two weeks.

Vantara said in its statement that it did not seek custody of Madhuri originally and received and cared for her solely in compliance with the judicial directions, and that it "respects the authority of the HPC and will comply fully with its directions." The organisation said her condition "has been stabilised through sustained veterinary care," while noting that her chronic conditions remain and require ongoing supportive management. Vantara said its veterinarians will travel to Kolhapur every fortnight to examine her and submit reports to the relevant authorities, and that its responsibility "does not end with her return to Kolhapur."

A Contested Homecoming

Not every party to the case welcomed the outcome. PETA India, which had campaigned for Madhuri's permanent rehabilitation at the Gujarat sanctuary, filed objections with the HPC opposing her return, arguing in a June 19, 2026 statement that moving her back to Nandani risked "wholly reversing" health progress made during her time in Jamnagar, where the organisation said she had been living without chains and had bonded with another rescued elephant. Khushboo Gupta, PETA India's Vice President of Policy, was quoted in that statement raising concerns about returning Madhuri to what the organisation described as the same shed where she had previously been kept in isolation. PETA India and the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations have both separately offered mechanical elephants to the math as an alternative for use in religious ceremonies.

The math and its supporters, by contrast, framed Madhuri's return as a matter of longstanding devotion, and thousands of residents from Nandani and surrounding villages turned out for her welcome, according to Free Press Journal's reporting, which noted the attendance of local elected representatives including MP Dhairyasheel Mane and MLA Rahul Awade.

What Happens Now

Under the HPC's conditions, Madhuri will remain at the Nandani math but under a modified regime: no processions, continuous care, and fortnightly veterinary check-ins from Vantara staff. Vantara has said it worked with authorities to prepare suitable living conditions, veterinary infrastructure, medical equipment and medication at the Nandani site ahead of her return, though it noted that some further infrastructure upgrades were constrained by local town-planning limitations, according to The Logical Indian's reporting. The organisation said it remains available to assist with future improvements if directed to do so by the relevant authorities.

Madhuri's case has become a reference point in a broader, ongoing debate in India over the welfare of elephants kept by religious institutions, a subject on which courts, veterinary experts and animal-welfare groups have taken increasingly assertive positions in recent years. Her return to Kolhapur does not end that debate; it embeds it, through the HPC's conditions, into how she will be looked after for the rest of her life.