Sabarimala gold row: Kerala High Court asks criminal case to be filed, cites 475 gm gold missing

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday ordered the registration of a criminal case and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the missing gold plating from the sanctum structures of Sabarimala, citing serious irregularities and discrepancies.

The court issued the directive after examining the final report submitted in a sealed cover by the Devaswom Vigilance wing.

The Chief Vigilance and Security Officer personally handed the report to the Devaswom Bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar.

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It will now be forwarded to the SIT headed by ADGP H. Venkitesh for investigation.

The court noted that approximately 475 grams of gold had gone missing during the 2019 gold plating of the temple’s Dwarapalaka sculptures.

It stressed the need for an impartial investigation and impleaded the State Police Chief as a party to the case.

The gold was handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti in 2019 on the instructions of the Devaswom Commissioner for plating.

However, the mahazar recorded at the time, signed by the temple Tantri, mentioned copper sheets, not gold.

Fourteen sculptures sent to Smart Creations, Bengaluru, had gold plating intact, but Potti instructed that it be removed.

A shortage of 474.99 grams of gold was subsequently detected.

The court observed that although Smart Creations returned the gold to Potti, he never handed it back to the Devaswom Board.

The bench directed the SIT to submit progress reports every two weeks and a final report within six weeks.

The Vigilance report is to be handed over to the State Police Chief, who must direct the SIT to register the case and begin the probe.

The issue reached court because the copper-plated sculptures were taken to Chennai for gold plating without informing the Devaswom Commissioner or seeking court approval.

The Vigilance probe revealed a 4.5 kg discrepancy between the weight of gold dispatched and the amount that reached Chennai, along with a 39-day delay in transportation.

Further irregularities surfaced when the missing pedestal of a plated sculpture was recovered from Potti’s sister’s house.

The court also took note of a letter by Potti suggesting the reuse of gold from another sculpture to reduce costs, an idea viewed with suspicion.

The Vigilance team found no such additional sculpture existed.

Calling it a major breach involving temple property, the High Court said the case reflects a disturbing lapse in oversight.