Sabarimala gold loss: Kerala HC says Devaswom Board officials may have been complicit, moots PCA probe

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday flagged grave lapses on the part of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officers in connection with a case where a man named Unnikrishnan Potti is accused of misappropriating gold from metal plates covering the 'Dwarapalaka idols' (door guardian) at the Sabarimala temple. [Suo Motu v The State of Kerala & ors].A Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar today remarked that some Devaswom officials may have been complicit in enabling Potti in his deceitful scheme.Therefore, the Court ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case to examine whether offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 would also be attracted against the TDB officials..Notably, Potti had undertaken to sponsor the repair of the gold-covered copper plates, which were entrusted to a Chennai firm for the repair work. However, controversy arose after several kilograms of gold was found to be missing when the plates were measured after repair work. Later, some of the gold was allegedly recovered by the authorities from Potti's sister's house. A case registered on the High Court's orders in the matter is presently being investigated by an SIT set up last month. Potti is presently under arrest. The High Court has also been monitoring the progress of the SIT probe. .What appears at first glance to be an act of devotion has all the hallmarks of calculated deceit... Deeply alarming that Devaswom Board was shockingly casual...Kerala High Court.Today, the Court noted that what appeared at first glance to be an act of devotion by Potti, upon scrutiny, revealed all the hallmarks of a calculated deceit enabled by complicit Devaswom officials.In this regard, the Court observed that the TDB's minutes book revealed serious irregularities in the documentation of entries regarding temple artefacts. The Court noted that the TDB had made entries only up to July 28, 2025. This raised concerns on whether the repairs of the gold plates were properly documented. The Court went on to note that the temple items were in Potti's custody for several days after the repair works were completed, which pointed to the TDB's lack of supervision over such valuable items."It is evident that Mr Potti commenced his dubious activities in collision with certain Devaswom Board officials, beginning with the so-called sponsorship of gold plating, the main door of the Sreekovil. What appears at first glance to be an act of devotion, has, on closer scrutiny, all the hallmarks of a calculated deceit. It is deeply alarming that the Devaswom Board authorities have been shockingly casual and negligent in permitting an individual of questionable integrity take measurements and produce replicas of sacred and invaluable temple elements," the Court remarked..The Court also reminded the TDB that it had a responsibility to safeguard the properties of religious and charitable institutions."They (TDB officers) offer a threefold duty to the deity as the juristic owner of the temple property, to the devotees as beneficiaries of the trust and to the state as the appointing authority responsible for statutory compliance and constitutional accountability," it noted.The Court warned that if the authorities are not vigilant, temple artifacts could be stolen and replicated under the guise of restoration work and sold in international markets by smugglers. The Court took the example of notorious temple art smugglers like Subhash Kapoor to drive home its point..The Court further directed the SIT to conduct a detailed scientific probe to determine the actual quantity of gold lost during the 2019 plating.To do this, the Court noted that it would be necessary to weigh the Dwarapalaka idol plates, and side pillar plates, which were gold plated in 2019 and 2025."SIT, may also have to take samples of cladded gold from any of the similar pillars, wherein gold plating has not been carried out, for assessing the actual quantity of gold plated on the questioned plates, and the actual loss of gold during the transaction in 2019," the Court added.Moreover, it has also directed the SIT to investigate the entrustment of certain repairs of the main door of the sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum or innermost chamber of the temple) to Potti between 2018 and 2019. The case will be heard next after three weeks. Case records placed before the Court in the matter by the SIT will remain in sealed covers till then. The investigating officers of the SIT had personally appeared before the Court today and submitted their report in a sealed cover. Their submissions were heard in-camera before today's order was dictated in open court. .Senior government pleader S Rajmohan appeared for the State.Standing counsel G Biju represented the Travancore Devaswom Board.Advocate Sayujya Radhakrishnan appeared as amicus curiae for the Sabarimala Special Commissioner.Advocates R Sudhish and M Manju represented Unnikrishnan Potti..[Read live coverage]