In a significant ruling on Friday, October 24, the Kerala High Court set aside ownership certificates earlier granted to Malayalam film actor Mohanlal for keeping ivory, declaring the documents have no legal standing.

The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Justice Jobin Sebastian and AK Jayasankaran Nambiar. They have examined the government orders that were issued on January 16, 2016 and April 6, 2016 as per a report by Live Law .

The orders were issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Wildlife. After reviewing, the judges stated that these approvals did not follow statutory requirements and were therefore termed as “void” and “illegal and unenforceable”.

The state is free to reissue certificates, but as per the statutory provision

While quashing th

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