'Why name lions Akbar, Sita?': High Court asks Bengal to rename big cats

‘Why name lions Akbar, Sita?’: High Court asks Bengal to rename big cats

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government to rename the lion named ‘Akbar’ and the lioness named ‘Sita’ which are kept in the same enclosure at Bengal Safari Park, Bar and Bench reported.

The court asked the state government’s lawyer whether he would name his own pet after a Hindu God or a Muslim Prophet.Â

A single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya said Sita is worshipped by a large section of people in the country and Akbar was a “secular Mughal Emperor”.Â

“Mr Counsel, will you yourself name your own pet after some Hindu God or Muslim Prophet … I think, if any one of us would have been the authority, none of us would have named them as Akbar and Sita. Can anyone of us think of naming an animal after Rabindranath Tagore?

Sita is worshipped by a larger section of this country … I also oppose naming the lion after Akbar. He was an efficient, successful and secular Mughal Emperor,” the High Court was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.

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