Muttil tree felling case: The Kerala High Court refused to stay the trial against the accused

The Kerala High Court has refused to stay the trial of Roja Augustine, an accused in the case of alleged cheating linked to the Muttil tree felling case.

Along with his brothers Jose Kutty Augustine and Anto Augustine, he was indicted as an accused in the case which is being tried in the Chottanikkara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Ernakulam. While considering the motion for a stay, the court adjourned the case until Tuesday, September 8.

The prosecution case is that the accused persons cheated MM Aliyar, owner of Malabar Timber Industries, Karimugal, Ernakulam district, of ₹1.4 million by offering to sell him timber. According to the FIR registered on July 13, 2021, the brothers allegedly collected the amount as advance in installments from a businessman and sold him 54 pieces of wood from “illegally felled trees”. The trees were reportedly felled and transported from the Meppadi Forest Range in Wayanad.

Despite repeated requests, the accused allegedly refused to return the deposit or produce valid permits. Mr. Aliyar then alerted the forest department, which confirmed the illegal sale and seized the wood on February 8, 2021. The police initially booked a case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC. Later, the Kerala High Court quashed the charge under Section 406 but upheld the offense of cheating.

Petition for Dismissal

In a motion to dismiss, the defendants argued that no permit was needed to transport the timber being sold and that the fees were unsustainable. Mr Aliyar countered that he had been misled into believing that the timber sale was legal. The court rejected the accused’s objection, stating that the forestry department’s investigation revealed that they were not authorized to transport or sell wood. In July, the Kerala High Court rejected Jose Kutta Augustin and Ant Augustin’s pleas for release.

The brothers are also prime accused in the alleged large-scale illegal felling and smuggling of protected rosewood and teak trees valued at ₹8 crore from allotted lands in Muttil South, Wayanad, carried out without the permission of the forest department.

Published – 03 Sep 2026 22:45 IST