KOCHI: Actor Mohanlal on Monday submitted before the High Court that he has received ownership certificate for the two ivories in his possession and the chargesheet by the Forest Department against him in the case has been filed with an ulterior motive.
Mohanlal has been charge-sheeted for illegal possession of ivory and failing to inform the Chief Wildlife Warden about its possession and transfer.In his statement, Mohanlal said the Forest Department filed the chargesheet against him and three others before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Perumbavoor, after seven years and also after he obtained ownership certificate from the government in 2016. The chargesheet was filed with an ulterior motive to harass him and further proceedings based on the chargesheet would cause untold hardships and irreparable injury to him.
According to Mohanlal, in the light of the ownership certificate, the possession of ivory tusks has been legalised from the very inception. Once ownership was granted, it must necessarily have a retrospective effect to the date of original possession. “This being the legal position, the chargesheet now filed by the range officer on October 16, 2019, will not sustain,” he said.
The state government had filed a statement before the court that steps had already been taken to withdraw the case. Therefore it was not permissible, now, for the investigating officer to hold that the possession and custody of the two pairs of elephant tusks were in violation of the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act and continue with the prosecution of the case. Again, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest had filed an affidavit that the possibility of successful prosecution of the case was weak due to the legalisation of the possession and ownership of the tusks. Hence, the chargesheet now filed before the Magistrate Court is a nullity and hence cannot be proceeded with.
Mohanlal said several persons and organisations styling themselves as public-spirited citizens and forums had filed false cases against him one after another, misusing the public trust doctrine and to tarnish his image.