The petition to withdraw prosecution proceedings against actor Mohanlal in the illegal ivory possession case was filed in a “hasty manner without addressing the challenges” raised before the Kerala High Court regarding the legality of the ownership certificate of ivory issued to him, the trial court has stated.
Dismissing the withdrawal petition, Anju Cletus, Judicial First Class Magistrate 3, Perumbavoor, noted that it was not desirable for the trial court to discuss the question of legality of the ownership certificate, as the third party intervenors and the State government were contesting the legal validity of the certificate before the High Court. The withdrawal petition was filed during the pendency of the writ petition, the court noted.
The court also noted that it would be fair in the eyes of law to consider the withdrawal petition on the basis of the adjudication on the legality of the certificate. Hence, the court was not inclined to allow the withdrawal petition for the time being, the order said.
The court felt that nothing would stand in the way of withdrawing the prosecution against the accused if the ownership certificate issued to Mohanlal, the first accused, is in accordance with law. The question whether a charge would lie against the accused in the case would largely depend on the validity of the ownership certificate even in the absence of a withdrawal petition, the court noted.
Opposing the prosecution plea, Abraham Meachinkara, the counsel for the third party intervenors A. A. Poulose and James Mathew, had argued that Mohanlal chose to declare the ivory in his possession only after the Forest department booked a case against him.
They argued that the State government could declare the possession of a wildlife trophy in the possession of a person only in the case of bonafide inheritance and after proper and effective inquiry. Such declarations shall also be published in the official gazette. There was no gazette notification in the case and hence the alleged certificate of ownership had no legal sanctity, they argued.
They also argued that the persons from whom Mohanlal had received the ivory had categorically insisted that it shall not be transferred. They had also stated that it was for safekeeping that the ivory was given to him. These vital aspects were deliberately ignored by the officials while issuing him the certificate. The public prosecutor cannot rely on the illegal certificate of ownership granted to the accused, which was challenged before the Kerala High Court.
The illegal possession of the elephant tusks surfaced following a raid conducted by the Income Tax department at the Kochi residence of the actor on July 22, 2011. Two tusks were found fixed on a stand made of rosewood and two tusks fixed on both sides of a mirror at his residence.
