Raju, who appeared to shed tears last July, when freed from his shackles after 50 years, will be allowed to remain with his rescuers, an Indian court has ruled.

British charity Wildlife SOS made a daring decision to rescue Raju, in the middle of the night, with the aid of a court order by Uttar Pradesh Forest Department.

The elephant, who was kept in a park in the northern city of Allahabad, was beaten and starved by a drug addict.

At the time he was also reportedly eating plastic and paper to survive since being poached from the wild as a baby.

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He was enslaved in chains and spikes wrapped around his legs, which has left him with chronic wounds and arthritis.

Raju's owner and mahout - the man who rode him - tried unsuccessfully to prevent his rescue by adding further chains around his legs and having people block roads for the rescue lorry.

Two months after being rescued, his former owners launched a legal battle to reclaim Raju, claiming he was their “rightful property”.

Last night, after a series of hearings, it was ruled Ragu would stay with his rescuers.

@WildlifeSOS, who tweeted their joy, said: “WE WON! #Raju will be staying with us! We are so grateful to u who supported him. Thank you and happy holidays :)”

Founder of the charity, Kartick Satyanarayanan, estimated that Raju had 27 owners over 50 years.

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"He's been treated as a commodity and beaten into accepting his new handler every two years," Satyanarayanan said at the time, according to The Hindu newspaper.

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