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Sabarimala gold row under scanner, Kerala HC orders SIT probe
The Kerala High Court has appointed Superintendent of Police S. Sasidharan to lead the team.
The Kerala High Court on Monday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into claims of irregularities in the reduced weight of gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols at the Sabarimala temple.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K. V. Jayakumar directed the formation of the SIT after the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Vigilance team presented an interim report on its initial investigation into the matter.
The High Court has appointed Superintendent of Police S. Sasidharan to lead the team. The functioning of the team will be supervised by Additional Director General of Police H. Venketesh.
The bench asked that the probe be conducted confidentially and that the reports be submitted directly before the court.
Earlier, the court had directed the TDB Vigilance team to look into the reduced weight of the Dwarapalakas after they were sent to a Chennai-based firm for electroplating in 2019, which was sponsored by businessman Unnikrishnan Potty.
The ongoing controversy originates from allegations that several gold-plated panels removed from the temple in 2019 and 2025 for restoration at workshops in Chennai and Hyderabad were mishandled, and discrepancies were reported in their weight and gold content.
According to the records related to the gold-plated copper sheets of the idols, they weighed 42.8 kilograms when they were last removed and sent for fresh gold plating in 2019. However, the court observed that when they were produced before the company entrusted to carry out the gold plating, their weight was 38.258 kilograms.
The row intensified after Unnikrishnan Potty alleged that two gold-plated panels he had donated to the temple in 2019 were missing from the strongroom, shortly before the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam event. Earlier, the TDB Vigilance wing found the “missing” items at Potty’s relatives’ residence, which sparked public outrage and protests.
