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Jumbo issue sees settlement in Kerala, finally!

A 34-year-old pachyderm, caught in the cobwebs of a legal battle between its custodians, has finally found a permanent home after five years.

The elephant, Narayanankutty, produced before the sub-court at Kottayam last Tuesday, was returned to one of the contenders, Seethamma of Alappuzha, following an out-of-court settlement with Mohandas Kurup.

Seethamma is the original owner. Kurup had leased the animal for a couple of years in 1993.

The jumbo issue had hogged the limelight in Kerala as the animal was physically dragged to court many times in the past month. Narayanankutty's first appearance there was on August 27, when a veterinary surgeon checked him on the Kerala high court's direction . The doctor found the animal healthy and returned him to Kurup.

The last appearance ended on a happy note for everyone concerned, with the court giving its nod to a compromise between the contenders.

Though the days of the uncertainty are over, Narayanankutty will be kept at the house of advocate Sathyan Nair until he is acquainted with his new mahouts. This will take a couple of weeks.

The case originated in 1995 when Seethama sought back Narayanankutty after the expiry of the lease. However, Kurup refused to part with the animal, forcing the former to seek legal remedy. Seethamma, for her part, also made several attempts to forcibly take away the elephant.

Even though the Kerala high court had ordered Kurup to pay the outstanding lease amount, the case dragged on due to his inability to make the payment.

Meanwhile, the talks held for the past several weeks between the contenders came to an end, with the original owner agreeing to forgo the payment.

UNI

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