The Kerala High Court has dismissed a plea by Roji Augustine, an accused in an alleged cheating case connected with the Muttil tree-felling case, to stay the trial in the case in which he, along with his brothers Jose Kutty Augustine and Anto Augustine, had been arraigned as accused.

The court directed him to approach the trial court – the Chottanikkara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Ernakulam – on the matter.

The brothers had earlier this month surrendered before the trial court after the court had issued a non-bailable warrant against them. They were subsequently ordered to appear before the court for framing of charges in the cheating case on Tuesday. They did not appear before the court on the day and filed an application for an extension.

The prosecution case is that the accused persons cheated M. M. Aliyar, the proprietor of Malabar Timber Industries, Karimugal, Ernakulam district, to the tune of ₹1.4 crore by offering to sell him timber. According to the FIR registered on July 13, 2021, the brothers allegedly collected the amount as advance in instalments from the trader and sold him 54 pieces of timber from the illegally felled trees. The trees were allegedly cut and transported from the Meppadi Forest Range in Wayanad.

Despite repeated requests, the accused allegedly refused to return the advance or to produce valid permits. Mr. Aliyar then alerted the Forest department, which confirmed the illegal sale and confiscated the timber on February 8, 2021.

The police initially booked the case under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating). Later, the Kerala High Court quashed the charge under Section 406 but upheld the cheating offence.

Discharge petition

In their discharge petition, the accused argued that no permit was required for transporting the timber sold and that the charges were unsustainable. Mr. Aliyar countered that he was misled into believing that the timber sale was lawful. The court rejected the accused persons’ contention, noting that the Forest department’s investigation established they had no authority to transport or sell the timber. In July, the Kerala High Court had dismissed the discharge petitions of Jose Kutty Augustine and Anto Augustine.

The brothers are also key accused in the alleged large-scale illegal felling and smuggling of protected rosewood and teak trees estimated at ₹8 crore from assigned lands in Muttil South, Wayanad, carried out without the Forest department’s permission.

Published - August 20, 2026 03:59 pm IST