A vigilance court in Kerala's Kollam on Wednesday granted bail to former Devaswom President and Commissioner, N Vasu, who is among those accused in the Sabarimala gold misappropriation case.
The order was passed by the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge Mohit CS after noting that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to file chargesheets within the prescribed 90 days under the law, thereby entitling Vasu to statutory default bail.
Vasu is the third accused in the case relating to the loss of gold from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at the Sabarimala temple.
He is alleged to have conspired with other accused persons in facilitating the pilferage of gold by recommending repair works of the gold-plated doors.
The prime accused in the case include one Unnikrishnan Potti, former TDB administrative officer B Murari Babu, and former TDB executive officer Sudheesh Kumar. They were also recently released on default bail
Another accused, former administrative officer S Sreekumar, was granted regular bail.
Vasu has been charged under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406, 409 (criminal breach of trust), 466 and 467 (forgery).
He is also accused of committing the offence under Section 13(1)(a) (criminal misconduct by a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
He was arrested on November 11, 2025.
After his bail plea was allowed yesterday, he was released from custody on Wednesday evening.
Vasu had earlier approached the High Court seeking regular bail, but was denied relief.
The gold misappropriation case pertains to allegations that gold went missing from the gold-plated coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols and the door frames to the Sreekovil of the Sabarimala temple.
The gold is said to have gone missing after certain repair works were conducted under the sponsorship of one Unnikrishnan Potti.
Several kilograms of gold were found to be missing when the plates were measured after repair work, and later, some of the gold was allegedly recovered by the authorities from Potti's sister's house.
An SIT was constituted to probe the matter on the directions of the Kerala High Court, which has been monitoring the investigation.
The Enforcement Directorate is also conducting a money laundering probe in connection with the case.
[Detailed order awaited]