'Can't Linger Indefinitely': Kerala High Court Asks SIT To Specify Time Required To File Final Report In Sabarimala Gold Theft Case

The Kerala High Court on Thursday (June 18) has granted a final opportunity to the Special Investigation Team, probing the alleged theft of gold from Sabarimala temple, to place before it the timeframe within which the final report is proposed to be laid before the jurisdictional court, the Court of the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance), Kollam.The case refers to the extraction and theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and doorframes of the Sreekovil of the Sabarimala temple. In October 2025, the High Court had constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the alleged discrepancies in the weight of gold.The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar asked the SIT to place a comprehensive report and the timeframe before it by June 29. The order was passed in the suo motu proceedings initiated for a court-monitored probe into the misappropriation.When the matter came up today, the Investigating Officer of the SIT placed a report before the Court. He informed that the investigation has reached its final stages and the aspect of criminal conspiracy and the larger circumstances surrounding the transaction are presently under investigation. Further, he submitted that the timeframe for filing final report and comprehensive report containing involvement of accused persons would be placed before the High Court by June 29. The Court was of the view that sufficient time was granted to the SIT to complete the investigation:"Having regard to the nature and gravity of the allegations, the significance of the issues involved, and the time already granted to the investigating agency, we are of the considered view that sufficient time has already been granted to carry the investigation forward and bring it to its logical conclusion. Though the transactions under investigation are stated to span several decades and involve the examination of a large volume of records and materials, we are firmly of the opinion that the proceedings cannot be permitted to linger indefinitely. The interests of justice demand that the investigation be concluded within a reasonable timeframe and with due expedition."The alleged loss of weight of gold came to light during the Court's intervention while considering a suo motu petition initiated on the basis of a report of the Special Commissioner stating that the Gold-cladded copper covering of the Dwarapalaka idols and the Peedam on which the idols were fixed, were removed without prior intimation to it.However, considering that the investigation is nearing completion, the Court thought it fit to grant one final opportunity to the SIT. It remarked:"we grant a final opportunity to the Head of the Special Investigation Team to place before this Court, on or before 29.06.2026, a comprehensive report setting out the involvement of the accused persons in connection with the removal and transportation of the Dwarapalaka idols and plates in the year 2025, the role played by the officials and employees concerned, and the specific timeframe within which the final report is proposed to be laid before the jurisdictional court. We make it clear that the investigation shall proceed with utmost diligence and seriousness and that all necessary steps shall be taken to ensure that the matter reaches its logical conclusion without any further undue delay."Today, the Court also perused the analysis report from the National Metallurgical Laboratory and observed that the same along with the scientific inputs emerging from it has narrowed the focus of the investigation and directed it towards the transactions connected with the gold-plating of the Dwarapalaka idols in 2025."The records seized by the Investigation Team disclose a clear sequence of events leading to the removal of the Dwarapalaka idols from the Sannidhanam. Such sequence is borne out from the documents seized during the course of investigation, the communications exchanged among the accused persons, and the various decisions, orders and proceedings of the Board which ultimately facilitated the transportation and removal of the idols for the purpose of gold-plating," the Court added.The case is now posted to June 29 for further consideration.Case No: WP(C) No. 40608 of 2025Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and Ors.Click to Read/Download Interim Order

'Can't Linger Indefinitely': Kerala High Court Asks SIT To Specify Time Required To File Final Report In Sabarimala Gold Theft Case

K. Salma Jennath

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K. Salma Jennath

'Can't Linger Indefinitely': Kerala High Court Asks SIT To Specify Time Required To File Final Report In Sabarimala Gold Theft Case

K. Salma Jennath

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K. Salma Jennath

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