The Kerala High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on criminal revision petitions filed by actor Mohanlal and the State government challenging the order of the Perumbavoor Judicial First Class Magistrate Court dismissing the plea of the assistant public prosecutor to withdraw the case registered against him under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act for illegally possessing ivories.
When the petitions came up for hearing, the State government submitted that the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act could not be invoked against the actor as no elephants were killed for extracting the tusks.
The government further submitted that the tusks possessed by the actor belonged to a captive elephant that had died naturally. The tusks were neither removed after killing the captive elephant nor were they extracted after killing any wild elephant. In fact, the Act was enacted to protect wild animals. Therefore, its provisions were not applicable in the case.
The actor contended that the magistrate had issued the order without considering the legal and factual aspects of the case and without application of mind.
The State government also said in its petition that the assistant public prosecutor had filed the application for withdrawal of the case after duly applying his free mind and careful consideration of the materials placed before him.
