The Kerala High Court on Monday (6th October) ordered a court-monitored investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the disappearance of gold from the gold-plated copper coverings of the ‘Dwarapalaka’ (door guardian) idols at Sabarimala Temple.
The order came after serious irregularities were found in the repair and handling of these gold-plated structures. A division bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar directed that the SIT be headed by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H. Venkatesh, with Assistant Director, Sasidharan S leading the inquiry on the ground.
The team will include inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors from various police stations to ensure a comprehensive probe. The court stated that only a team “of officers of the highest integrity” could effectively investigate the case and uncover how such a large quantity of gold went missing.
The SIT has been asked to complete its probe within a month and to refrain from interacting with the media or the public during the investigation.
Intervention of the Kerala High Court
The High Court took up the case on its own after reports revealed that the gold-plated copper coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala’s sanctum sanctorum were sent for repairs to a private jewellery firm in Chennai, without informing the court or the temple’s special commissioner.
This decision violated earlier directions from 2023, when the court had clearly ordered that any repair or maintenance of Sabarimala’s ornaments must be done only after prior intimation to the Special Commissioner.
In 2019, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the temple, had engaged a Chennai-based firm, Smart Creations, to perform gold plating on the idols with a 40-year warranty.
When defects appeared earlier this year, the TDB again sent the idols to the same firm, with the work sponsored by devotee Unnikrishnan Potti, but this time, the items were sent without the required permission.
The court questioned the TDB’s decision to outsource the repair work to Chennai, ordered an immediate halt to all activities, and directed the return of the temple valuables to Kerala.
How the irregularities came to light
The issue surfaced when the Sabarimala Special Commissioner informed the bench on 9th September that the Dwarapalaka idols’ gold-plated coverings had been removed secretly and transported out of the state. Later, a vigilance inquiry revealed alarming irregularities in the gold records.
In 2019, around 42.8 kilograms of gold-plated materials were handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti to deliver to Smart Creations, but the firm’s records showed they received only 38 kilograms, leaving a major difference of about 4.5 kilograms of gold.
Despite this, the TDB re-engaged the same sponsor for the new plating work in 2025, which further led to the controversy.
Findings of the court
The vigilance report revealed that the gold covering of the Dwarapalaka idols had been removed without informing the court, in violation of clear instructions. The report also exposed that the TDB’s record-keeping was inaccurate and unreliable.
During the investigation, vigilance officers searched the residence of the younger sister of Unnikrishnan Potti and seized certain gold-plated pedhams (ornamental bases), raising further suspicion of misappropriation.
The report also found that some officials of the TDB were complicit, having failed to follow temple administration protocols.
Adding to the seriousness, the court said that an email sent by Potti to the TDB president, in which he asked whether he could use leftover gold from the temple work for a wedding. This, the bench said, clearly indicated that the matter involved “serious penal offences” and a possible conspiracy between Potti and TDB officials.
The court has now allowed the Chief Vigilance Officer to open the Sabarimala strong room and compare the idols with photographs taken in 2019 to check for any missing or altered gold components. It also appointed retired judge Justice KT Sankaran to oversee a full inventory of the temple’s valuables.
