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The Elephant Ownership Exception: A History of Protection and Possession

In 1963, private forest owners in Malabar challenged provisions of the Kerala Forest Act, 1961 (Act IV of 1962). The question before the Court was whether the State could deprive forest owners of their existing right to capture and own elephants found on their land. In Kuppathode Madhavan Nair v State of Kerala (1963), the Kerala High Court sided with the owners. Applying common-law principles inherited from the colonial period, it held that ownership of land conferred a qualified right over wil

16 Oct 2026 6:59 pm