Kerala High Court Orders Fresh Probe into Sabarimala Ghee Prasadam Sale Irregularities
KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has expressed dissatisfaction with the Vigilance investigation into alleged irregularities in the sale of Abhisheka Ghee Prasadam (Aadiya Sishtam Ghee) at Sabarimala and ordered a fresh probe into the matter.
The Devaswom Bench comprising Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K.V. Jayakumar directed the Vigilance Director to appoint a senior officer with experience and integrity to re-examine the case. The officer has been asked to study all records, review the earlier findings and submit a detailed report within four weeks.(sabarimalauptodate.in)
The court also said the new investigation should examine whether offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) are applicable in the case. The matter will be considered again on July 15.
According to the Vigilance report, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) suffered a loss of ₹17.14 lakh due to irregularities in the sale of ghee through four counters at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam during the 2025 Mandala-Makaravilakku season. The investigation led to 43 temple employees being named as accused.(sabarimalauptodate.in)
However, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Pathanamthitta, informed the High Court that poor maintenance of records and administrative lapses made it difficult to identify individual responsibility. The report sought permission to drop further action against all accused except A.T. Aneesh and K.R. Sunilkumar.
The High Court questioned this approach. The court pointed out that the Vigilance had already found that ghee packets had been entrusted to the counter staff and that they had a duty to account for them. Therefore, recommending closure of the case because the exact quantity handled by each employee could not be determined appeared contradictory, the bench observed.
The court said the purpose of the investigation was not merely to identify administrative lapses but to find out how the loss occurred, who was responsible and what failures in the system allowed it to happen.
The bench further said that the role of temple officers, former officials, counter employees and priests should be examined. It also directed that any similar irregularities in the past should be looked into.
The court noted that the Superintendent of Police who had supervised the earlier investigation had retired and stressed the need for a fresh review by a competent senior officer.(sabarimalauptodate.in)
The case is being considered by the High Court through a suo motu petition based on a report submitted by the Special Commissioner, which alleged irregularities at the ghee distribution counters at Sabarimala.