The petitioner filed an application for a writ of certiorari to squash an order of the Director of the Department of Wildlife Conservation permitting the display of 30 species of animals at a private zoo that was open to the public for a fee.
The relevant section of the law allowed authorization to keep animals in a zoo for protection, preservation or propagation or for scientific study.
The petitioner submitted that only a national zoo and not a private zoo could be granted such authorization so that the permit was void.
The court held that it could not interfere with the minister’s legitimate exercise of his discretion and declined to grant the orders sought.