Illegal possession of ivory artefacts by actor Mohanlal may be booked as a new offense against him or attached to an already existing case of illegal possession of elephant tusks, with the Kerala High Court recently canceling the ownership certificates issued for both the tusks and the artefacts, legal experts say.
Illegal possession of 13 artefacts and tusks surfaced after an income tax raid at his residence in Kochi on 22 July 2011. The artefacts included ivory carvings of Gaja Lakshmi, Geethopadesham, Krishnaleela, Tirupati Balaji, Dhanalakshmi, Devi, 60 cm, Dashanayay and sizes.
Though details of the artefacts were mentioned in the inventory prepared by the IT department after the raid and in another inventory prepared by the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Division of Social Forestry, Ernakulam, no proceedings were taken against Mr. Mohanlal for their possession. The case filed against the actor in First Class Court 3, Perumbavoor, was only related to possession of four elephant tusks. Illegal possession of ivory artefacts is also an offense under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, forest officials said.
Violation of the Nature Protection Act
The actor has committed the offense of “unlawfully transferring and possessing the tusks of Schedule 1 (12 B) wild animal elephant (elephant maximus) in contravention of the Wildlife Act,” the indictment said.
He was also charged with “possession, transfer, purchase and custody of elephant tusks without informing the government and without obtaining permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden, thereby contravening the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972,” the criminal file said.
“If the ivory and artefacts came into the actor’s possession at different times, two separate cases may have to be booked. However, the department can attach the case of the artefacts to the ivory if they came into his possession in a single transaction. If the points of possession of the artefacts and tusks are not traceable, one judicial source would suffice,” he pointed out.
The department left the tusks, which were placed on mirror tables, and the artifacts in the actor’s care.
A bench comprising Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Jobin Sebastian last month quashed the certificates of ownership issued for both the ivory and the artefacts after finding them “null and void ab initio and legally unenforceable”.
The state government will soon pass a court order to cancel the title deeds of both the ivory and the artefacts. The ministry will decide on the next course of action after the state government decides on the court verdict, said the department’s top official.
Published – 02 Nov 2025 20:12 IST
