Delay in probe into Elephant Tusk case: PIL filed in Kerala High Court against Mohanlal [Read Petition]

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in Kerala High Court against Malayalam Cinema legend Mohanlal in a case relating to alleged illegal possession of elephant tusks by the actor..The matter was heard yesterday by a Bench of Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar..Advocate Rashmi Gogoi who is daughter of Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi appeared for Lal. She sought an adjournment citing requirement of Senior Advocate to argue the case. The matter will now be heard on July 11..The petition has been filed by one AA Paulose in relation to the elephant tusks recovered from the house of Mohanlal in 2012 after a raid by the Income Tax Authorities..A case was registered against Mohanlal based on the same for violation of the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 read with Section 13(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. This was because the possession of elephant tusks by Mohanlal was without having obtained an ownership certificate under Section 42 of the Wildlife Protection Act. However, it is the petitioner’s contention that “all investigations that followed were done to save 1st respondent by introducing loopholes”. Hence, Lal was not even required to seek bail and no progress was made in the investigation for the next 50 months. The petitioner has alleged that because of the influence exerted by Mohanlal, government officials helped him..Meanwhile, in 2015 the Kerala government issued a notification granting permission to Mohanlal to declare the elephant tusks with him to the Authorized Officer within 30 days. On the basis of the same, Mohanlal filed a declaration under Section 40 of the Act in 2016. The issued a certificate of ownership of the 4 elephant tusks to Mohanlal. The petitioner has contended that the certificate was issued without conducting a proper inquiry..Further, the case in court has not progressed in that Form 2 report has not been filed in court and no information has been received in court regarding completion of inquiry. Further, the said case is not being called in court, the petition states. Contending that Mohanlal is being unlawfully protected, the petitioner has approached the High Court contending infringement of constitutional guarantees and discriminatory treatment. The petitioner has prayed for quashing of the Government order of 2015 and the consequent ownership certificate issued to Mohanlal in 2016..The petitioner also sought a direction to take effective steps for completion of an inquiry into the case registered against Mohanlal..Lead Image taken from here..[Read Petition].Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.