High Court relief for Malayalam actor Mohanlal in ivory case

Malayalam actor Mohanlal has recently got significant relief from the Kerala High Court in the matter of possessing elephant tusks. The High Court has imposed a stay on the proceedings in the lower court.
High Court Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan stayed the proceedings in the first-class judicial magistrate’s court in Perumbavoor for a period of six months on the petition of the actor.
Earlier, the Perumbavoor court dismissed the government’s plea to withdraw the case. The court also ordered that Mohanlal and all other accused must face trial and appear in person on 3 November.
In the petition, the state government argued that this was not a matter of public interest. However, the magistrate court accepted the argument of the petitioners that the government cannot take a decision on behalf of an individual. Mohanlal claimed that the elephant tusks were given to him as a gift.
In 2011, during an Income Tax department inspection, elephant tusks were seized from the actor’s house in Kochi. He was charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Later, the case was transferred to the Forest Department, which filed a charge-sheet against the actor in 2019.