Kerala HC orders vigilance inquiry into alleged gold theft during flag mast installation in Sabarimala

The Kerala High Court on Monday ordered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct a preliminary inquiry into allegations that gold went missing from a flag mast at the Sabarimala temple in 2017, when a new mast was installed using gold donations from devotees.

A Division Bench of  Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar noted that a complaint on this issue has already been lodged by a devotee with the Devaswom Vigilance.

The flag mast replacement work had been carried out after the Court greenlit the move in 2016. The expense for the work was undertaken by a private infrastructure firm named M/s Phoenix Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad. Notably, the Court in 2016 had issued specific directions for the handling and accounting of gold and valuable materials collected in connection with the flag mast.

However, vigilance records revealed discrepancies, including absence of individual donor receipts for gold contributions, in clear violation of Devaswom Rules and financial accountability norms.

According to the vigilance report, although a total of 9,573.010 grams of gold was available through customs purchases and donations, only 9,340.200 grams was shown as used, with insufficient documentation to verify individual donations.

The gold theft allegations, thus, need an independent probe, the Court held. It added that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) entrusted with investigating the alleged theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and door frames of the Sreekovil to the temple could not be asked to divert its attention by probing this case as well.

Therefore, the task of examining whether there was any merit to the allegations of gold theft from the flag mast was entrusted to the VACB.

"The Director (of VACB) shall constitute a team of competent and upright officers to conduct a preliminary enquiry, including recording statements of the donors and examining financial and material records, and shall file a report before this Court within a period of 30 days from today," the Court ordered.

Notably, by the same order, the Court also permitted the SIT probing the gold theft case concerning the Dwarapalaka idols and gold-plated copper door frames of the temple's Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) to collect necessary samples from the temple to carry out advanced scientific testing.

The SIT told the Court that preliminary scientific findings indicated that the original gold cladding on the Dwarpalaka idols and other temple structures may have been removed and replaced with fresh surface plating of lesser thickness to conceal misappropriation.

The Court agreed with the SIT's submission that advanced metallurgical and forensic analysis were necessary to establish whether substitution or dilution of gold had occurred, and the extent of such misappropriation.

"Allegations of this nature, involving the removal and substitution of precious gold cladding from the Holy Shrine, strike at the very sanctity of the temple. Such allegations, by their very nature, cannot rest solely on testimonial assertions or documentary records ... The proof must necessarily be anchored on demonstrable scientific parameters capable of independent verification and rigorous judicial scrutiny," it said.

The SIT was, therefore, permitted to collect samples from Sannidhanam on February 12, and approach the national institutions like Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, and the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad, for specialised tests.

The matter has been posted for further consideration on February 19.

During the hearing, the Court took note of the progress of the SIT probe as well, after interacting with senior police officials, including the Additional Director General of Police heading the SIT and the investigating officer.

The Bench was informed that 262 witnesses have been examined and that efforts are underway to obtain call data records, dating back to 2019 to established links and interactions between the accused persons.

Digital evidence seized from the private Chennai firm, Smart Creations, which had done the repair works for the gold-plated copper coverings, was also being analysed at the Forensic Science Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram.

Senior counsel S Sreekumar along with standing counsel G Biju represented the Travancore Devaswom Board.

[Read Order]