Kerala High Court Orders SIT Probe into Sabarimala Gold Case
Kochi: The Kerala High Court has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) - ADGP H. Venkatesh to look into the suspected loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (door guardian) idols at the Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa temple.
The Court took action on its own after receiving a report from the Special Commissioner, who said that the gold-coated copper plates on the Dwarapalaka idols and their peedam (pedestal) were removed without informing the authorities in advance.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had earlier sent these items to Smart Creations, a company in Chennai, for electroplating. The work was sponsored by devotee Unnikrishnan Potti.
During the hearing, the Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar noted that the gold weight had reduced by about four kilograms compared to the records from 2019, when the idols were last sent to the same company.
Earlier, the Court had appointed Justice K.T. Sankaran, a retired High Court judge, to assess all the valuables of the Sabarimala temple. The Court also allowed the appointment of a qualified jewel appraiser to check all items in the temple’s strong room, those listed in the Thiruvabharanam Register, and all gold-plated articles.
The High Court will issue more details about the SIT soon. The case will be taken up again on October 10.