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Kerala HC stays trial proceedings in ivory possession case against actor Mohanlal

The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the trial proceedings in the case related to the alleged illegal possession of…

SNS | Thiruvananthapuram | September 18, 2023 9:50 pm

Kerala HC stays trial proceedings in ivory possession case against actor Mohanlal

Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the trial proceedings in the case related to the alleged illegal possession of ivory filed against Malayalam actor Mohanlal for six months.

A single bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan granted an interim stay of proceedings before Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Perumbavoor, for a period of six months.

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The case was registered after four elephant tusks were seized from the actor’s house in a raid conducted by the Income Tax authorities in June 2012.

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Mohanlal, however, has been claiming that the ivory tusks were obtained legally and in 2015, at the direction of the Union government, the Kerala government had issued a certificate of ownership to him. Following this, the State government had issued a no objection certificate for withdrawing the case against him in 2020.

However, in June 2022, the Magistrate court dismissed the state’s application to withdraw the case. The court observed that the withdrawal petition was filed in a hasty manner by the state government.

The court also noted that there was no gazette notification in this case and hence the alleged certificate of ownership of the tusks has no legal sanctity.

Challenging this order, Mohanlal approached the High Court. In February this year, the High Court dismissed the actor’s plea but it partially allowed the state’s plea for withdrawing from the case, and asked the Magistrate court for fresh consideration of the state’s plea.

Subsequently, the state approached the magistrate court with a fresh plea seeking consent to withdraw the case.

This plea by the state was, however, dismissed by the Magistrate court stating that the Wild Life Protection Act was implemented to preserve the broader national interests and not individual rights.

The court further directed the actor to appear before the trial court on 3 November.

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The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010. A division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice P V Balakrishnan suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail to him after considering his appeal against the NIA court’s conviction in the case Considering the prolonged detention and citing the potential for trial delays, the court suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail, taking into account that some co-accused with similar allegations had already been released after serving shorter terms. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. It also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms. “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over 9 years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored. Additionally, the appeals filed by the NIA against the findings of the learned Sessions Judge are being considered in separate appeals, which have not yet been taken up. “There is also the likelihood of delay, as the prime accused has surrendered, and the learned Sessions Judge may have to take up the trial and dispose of it in accordance with the law and some of the original records may be required for that purpose. In view of these facts and circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the sentence imposed on the applicant can be suspended pending the consideration of the appeal.” The court said The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He is not supposed to provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail The gruesome incident dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodupuzha, was returning from Sunday mass with his family, members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) attacked him, allegedly in retaliation for a question paper he set, which contained a passage that they claimed insulted Prophet Mohammed was derogatory. His right hand was chopped off in this attack. Nasar was accused of playing a critical role in the attack. Investigations revealed his involvement in recruiting gang members, assigning specific tasks, collecting funds, procuring communication devices, and maintaining communication links with key conspirators.

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010.