Muttil tree-felling case: Forest Dept files charge sheet again after court’s rejection

Kalpetta: The Forest Department has filed the charge sheet again in the Muttil tree-felling case after rectifying errors and addressing deficiencies pointed out by the court. The Meppadi Range Officer e-filed the charge sheet before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Sulthan Bathery, on Friday evening. The court returned the earlier charge sheet, citing procedural lapses, missing supporting documents, clerical errors, and failure to properly complete confiscation proceedings involving the vehicle allegedly used to transport the timber. The court also found that the department had failed to provide a proper explanation for the delay or submit a petition seeking condonation of the delay. The court had also pointed out deficiencies in the proceedings to confiscate the vehicle allegedly used to transport the timber.

The case relates to the seizure of rosewood logs worth ₹47 lakh by the Meppadi Range Officer on February 3, 2021. The logs were allegedly felled and transported from Wayanad by the Augustine brothers. The Forest Department had submitted the charge sheet on September 17, nearly five and a half years after the seizure.

Forest officials said the delay was due to a High Court order directing that the charge sheet should not be filed without further instructions. The restriction was lifted on September 8, following which the department submitted the charge sheet.

Forest Dept proceedings moving at a snail's pace
The Forest Department is initiating proceedings to confiscate the lorry used by the Augustine brothers only five years after it was seized. The department took the lorry into custody on June 9, 2021, for allegedly transporting rosewood logs from Wayanad. However, the charge sheet was filed before the Sulthan Bathery court without completing the confiscation proceedings.

The confiscation of the timber seized by the department has also remained incomplete. Rosewood logs worth ₹15 crore are deteriorating at the Forest Department's depot in Kuppady, exposed to rain and sunlight. Had the timber been confiscated earlier, it could have been auctioned and sold by the department.

The delay prompted the accused to approach the High Court, which stayed the auction proceedings. Meanwhile, the South Wayanad DFO has issued notices to eight people, including the Augustine brothers and the lorry owner, as part of the proceedings to confiscate the timber and vehicle. Officials said the confiscation proceedings would be completed soon.

A carelessly drafted charge sheet
The court observed that the charge sheet should have been accompanied by a proper petition seeking condonation of the delay. It noted that the department could have explained the delay by citing the time taken to receive the DNA test results of the trees.

The department could also have referred to a government direction requiring the Forest Department to submit charge sheets in forest cases only after the police had completed and submitted charge sheets in connected criminal cases. The court observed that such an explanation could have helped establish the circumstances that led to the delay. The court also found several clerical mistakes and other deficiencies in the charge sheet.

Forest Minister Shibu Baby John has sought an explanation from the Chief Conservator of Forests, North Zone, over the lapses. Onmanorama contacted South Wayanad DFO Ashique Ali over the phone for his response, but he was unavailable for comment.

The DFO had submitted the charge sheet on September 17 following the prolonged delay. The Augustine brothers had earlier approached the High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court, seeking a halt to proceedings in a connected cheating case pending before the Chottanikkara court. One of their contentions was that the Forest Department had not filed its charge sheet despite the case having been registered several years ago.

Ashique Ali had also earlier faced criticism over the delay in submitting documents before the High Court in connection with a petition filed by the Augustine brothers challenging the proposed auction of the seized rosewood. The delay in producing the records was followed by an order staying the auction.

The handling of the Muttil tree-felling investigation has faced controversy from the beginning. During the previous LDF government, then South Wayanad DFO A Shajna, who had pursued the investigation, was suspended through a midnight order. The order was revoked within hours following protests from environmental groups. She was later transferred. Ashique Ali was appointed South Wayanad DFO during the final phase of the previous LDF government's tenure. Former Forest Minister A K Saseendran had also faced criticism after he was seen accompanying persons accused in the Muttil tree-felling case during a visit to the district.

Three departments, more than 170 cases
The Muttil tree-felling episode has resulted in more than 170 cases being registered by three government departments. The Forest Department registered 52 cases, with the Augustine brothers named as accused in 43. The police registered 54 cases, while the Revenue Department registered 68 cases in connection with the alleged illegal felling of rosewood. Around three years ago, notices were issued to 37 landowners, including the Augustine brothers, directing them to pay a total penalty of approximately ₹8.29 crore for the alleged illegal felling of trees.

According to DySP V V Benny, who heads the Special Investigation Team probing the police cases, the police registered 54 cases in Wayanad, of which 41 cases involving the Augustine brothers as accused are being investigated by his team.

“These cases are split charge cases arising from the major cases registered at Meenangadi police station. We have submitted charge sheets before the court in all the cases,” Benny said.