Kerala HC sets aside magistrate court’s order disallowing plea to withdraw ivory possession case against Mohanlal

High Court asks magistrate court to consider the plea afresh

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday set aside the order of the Perumbavoor Judicial First Class Magistrate Court dismissing the plea of the prosecution to withdraw the case registered against actor Mohanlal and another person for illegally possessing ivory. The court directed the magistrate court to consider the withdrawal plea afresh.

Justice A. Badharudeen passed the order while allowing a revision petition filed by the State goverment challenging the magistrate court’s order.

The court, however, dismissed the petitions filed by actor Mohanlal and another against the magistrate court’s order.The charge against the actor is that he had violated provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act by possessing the two pairs of elephant tusks. The State government contended that the magistrate court’s order was illegal as it was passed without considering the materials placed before the court. The State government submitted that the public prosecutor had obtained the government’s consent for the withdrawal of the prosecution and filed the plea, after considering the material in the case and applying his mind.

The government also pointed out that the actor had obtained ownership certificate for the tusks and got it legalised. Therefore, the possibility of successful prosecution of the case was weak. Besides, the charge of violating the Wildlife Protection Act would stand as no wild animal was killed for taking the tusks. The task was extracted from a captive elephant which died a natural death.

The actor had submitted in his petition that he had the ownership certificate for the two ivories in his possession and the charge sheet by the forest department against him had been filed with an ulterior motive. He pointed out that once ownership was granted to him, it must necessarily have a retrospective effect to the date of original possession. Therefore, the charge sheet now filed by the Range Officer on October 16, 2019, would not sustain.