Renowned actor Mohanlal will face trial in a wildlife crime case registered against him, a court has ordered. Mohanlal has been booked for illegal possession of two pairs of ivory. The state government’s plea to withdraw the prosecution proceedings against him was dismissed by a trial court on Thursday.
Petitioners James Mathew and A. A. Poulose have challenged the withdrawal plea by the government. Abraham P. Meachinkara, counsel for petitioners, opposed the withdrawal of prosecution. According to Meachinkara, the ownership certificate provided to Mohanlal for ivory is void.
Meachinkara said that a mere certificate is not the ground for withdrawing the case against Mohanlal. Meachinkara said that no case has been charged against the actor for 13 ivory artefacts, adding that these artefacts were found with two pairs of elephant tusks. With the court’s strict stance, things can become increasingly difficult for Mohanlal.
The two pairs of ivories were found at his house in Thevara, Kochi after a raid conducted by Income Tax Department in June 2012. Section 50 of the Wild Life Protection Act has a provision for strict punishment for this act. Section 50 prescribes a punishment of no less than 3 years for this criminal act. This punishment can be extended to seven years and a fine. These offences are specified in schedule one of this act.
Mohanlal applied with the government in January 2016 and September 2019, urging it to withdraw the case. Mohanlal claimed that the ivory was purchased legally. Following this claim, Mohanlal was provided relaxation by the United Democratic Front government.
The relaxation continued during the Left Democratic Front government’s tenure. The LDF government had filed a petition stating that they have no objection to withdrawing the case against Mohanlal. This petition now stands rejected by the court.
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