Malayalam star Mohanlal has declared to the Kerala Forest Department that he possesses 10 elephant tusks and 13 ivory idols. This comes after the Kerala High Court, in 2025, cancelled ownership certificates for the tusks. The case dates back to 2011, when a routine income tax raid uncovered something more.
The 2011 raid that discovered ivory in Mohanlal’s home
In 2011, income tax officials entered Mohanlal’s home in Kochi’s Thevara neighbourhood expecting financial documents and cash. What they allegedly discovered instead were elephant tusks and ivory artefacts displayed as heirlooms. They were seized under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which strictly prohibits possession of ivory without government certification and a case was registered.
Down To Earth reported that Mohanlal claimed the tusks came from a captive elephant that died of natural causes and that he kept them as memorabilia. He claimed not to know it was unlawful to keep them. The case slipped into oblivion after the government allowed him to declare the tusks in 2015, and he was issued an ownership certificate in 2016.
The 2025 court case that reversed it all for Mohanlal
The case first reached the Perumbavoor court in 2011, with Mohanlal challenging the order in the Kerala High Court. He was granted an interim stay, which stayed in effect till 2025. In 2016 and 2019, he requested the government to withdraw the case, maintaining that the ivory and tusks were lawfully acquired. The plea was dismissed in 2023.
LiveLaw reported that in October 2025, the HC ruled that the ownership certificates issued were not legally valid. The state government was asked to issue a new notification. This came after a group of retired forest officers, conservationists, and former wildlife wardens petitioned the HC over the certificates which allowed him to keep these tusks. The court did not direct the prosecution of the actor.
Mohanlal’s 2026 declaration under amnesty
After all these years, Mohanlal declared to the Forest Department that he possesses 10 elephant tusks, six more than his initial declaration, and 13 ivory idols. Officials at the Malayattoor Divisional Forest Office in Kochi told PTI that the declaration was made under the department’s amnesty scheme, in which individuals can declare unregistered wildlife articles to avoid legal action.
The ivory idols he declared include those of Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, and Tirupati Balaji, with a total weight of around 46 kg. Mohanlal has claimed that most of the tusks in his possession are inherited or received as gifts. The Forest Department will now conduct DNA tests to verify their authenticity.