A vigilance court in Kerala on Wednesday granted bail to the senior Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru in connection with the Sabarimala Gold misappropriation case.

The order was passed by the Kollam Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge Mohit CS who allowed the Thantri's bail plea in the two cases registered against him.

The case pertains to allegations that gold went missing from the gold-plated coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols and the door frames to the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) 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 senior Thantri 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 Thantri 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 January 9.

During the hearing of his bail plea, the special investigation team (SIT) highlighted the Thantri's close association with the prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti, suggesting coordination in misappropriating gold from the temple.

The prime accused Potti along with other accused, including former TDB administrative officer, B Murari Babu, former Devaswom President and Commissioner, N Vasu, former TDB executive officer Sudheesh Kumar and former administrative officer S Sreekumar had recently been granted bail.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court had dismissed the bail plea of one Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creations, a Chennai based firm which carried out the repair works for the gold cladding of temple items and the bail pleas of former TDB President A Padmakumar and jeweller Roddam Pandurangaiah Naga Govardhan.

The Enforcement Directorate is also conducting a money laundering probe in connection with the case.

[Detailed order awaited]