The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) challenging the communication from the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), New Delhi, which directed IISc to stop all experiments on animals. But sources from the IISc's department of animal house facility deny having any intimation in this regard.
IISc officials are now surprised by the orders from the High Court, which they say they have not received. There was a discussion with the government of India to constitute a new committee, which would soon allow animal tests to be carried out without unreasonable or undue restriction that had so long been meted out to the science research community by the CPCSEA.
Under the new committee rules, IISc and other research institutes will not be permitted to go ahead with trials on animals. The High Court orders has now come as a surprise to the scientific community.
The facility at IISc spans over an area of 35,000 sq.ft and the animals maintained here are rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, monkey and golden hamster. The Institute has also started the E-3 facility, which is a contained centre for testing infectious disease drug reactions.
According to the reports from the High Court after dismissing the case, the petitioner said CPCSEA issued a communications on January 11 2002 stating that IISc was holding 197 primates in deplorable conditions and further the Institute does not have a CPCSEA approved project. The CPCSEA had also directed the IISc to rehabilitate the monkeys. A subsequent communication from the Committee, on March 22, 2003 called on IISc to stop all experiments on animals immediately. "There have been several meetings to hold animal experiments, informed the sources, who now expressed shock over the High Court orders.
IISc however said it has taken care of the animals. It contended that CPCSEA member had virtually gate-crashed into IISc without permission and entered the animal house. Maneka Gandhi heads the CPCSEA and has charge sheeted IISc on the grounds that the facility was in a poor condition as it lacked space and cleanliness to maintain the animals, informed sources in the department.