The Madras High Court on Wednesday allowed Coimbatore veterinarian V. Valliappan to meet a baby monkey he rescued and cared for for over ten months after it was injured in a stray dog ​​attack.

The directive was issued as part of an interim order on a writ petition filed by Valliappan earlier this week.

A single bench of Justice CV Karthikeyan ordered Valliappan to visit the Arihant Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur, Chennai on Saturday and submit a report on the interaction.

The bench also asked Tamil Nadu forest department officials to observe the interaction between Valliappan and the baby monkey and submit a report by November 14.

A decision on Valliappan’s plea for interim custody of the monkey will be taken after considering the reports.

Addressing government special pleader T. Srinivasan, Justice Karthikeyan pointed out that cases involving human-animal bonding require delicate handling. The judge expressed interest in whether the monkey would still recognize Valliappan, even though two weeks had passed since their separation.

The comment was in response to the petitioner’s lawyer, R. Sankarasubbu, who claimed that Valliappan took care of the monkey from December 4, 2023 to October 26, 2024.

Justice Karthikeyan also requested that the government pleader furnish the court with relevant rules and regulations regarding grant of interim custody of animals to individual custodians.

In his affidavit, Valliappan narrated how he first met the injured baby monkey during a dog sterilization camp in Sholingur municipality of Ranipet district.

The monkey suffered several dog bites and was partially paralyzed below the hip. Since then, he has provided extensive care and feeding, but the animal was taken from him on October 26 and transferred to the zoo.

Valliappan, who initially requested interim custody of the monkey on October 28, said the animal still needed further care to achieve full independence. He argued that although the monkey may eat out of hunger, it may not be able to secure adequate nutrition on its own.

Citing the bond he developed with the animal over months of care, he expressed fear that it would fall ill again without his supervision. The veterinarian assured the court that he would submit regular updates on the monkey’s health if granted temporary custody and would allow inspections by the forest department if necessary.

Valliappan is affiliated with Prani Mithran, a Madurai-based animal welfare organization that provides free veterinary services across Tamil Nadu.