Kerala High Court holds in-camera hearing in Sabarimala gold loss case

The Kerala High Court today held an in-camera hearing for the case concerning the alleged loss of gold from gold-plated copper plates covering the 'Dwarapalaka idols' (door guardian) at the Sabarimala temple [Suo Motu v State of Kerala & ors].

The decision to conduct the proceedings in-camera was notified by the Court's Registry yesterday.

Accordingly, a Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar heard the matter today but restricted public and media access to the hearing.

The Court had earlier ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the case and warned the media against sensationalising the issue. The Court also directed all officers involved in the investigation to refrain from sharing information with the media.

During today's hearing, the Investigating officer personally appeared before the Court and handed over an interim report in a sealed cover.

The Court has been monitoring this sensitive matter since September, after reports revealed procedural lapses and discrepancies in the handling of the gold-plated copper plates that covered the Dwarapalaka idols in the sanctum sanctorum at Sabarimala.

Suo motu proceedings had been initiated based on a report by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner.

The report raised concerns that the gold-plated copper coverings were sent for repair works to Smart Creations, a Chennai-based firm, without prior intimation to the Court or commissioner.

The Court eventually took a serious view of a discrepancy of around 4.54 kilograms between the gold sent for repair and the gold reportedly received by the firm for repair.

It was observed that 42.8 kg of gold-plated items were handed over to a devotee named Unnikrishnan Potti, who sponsored repair works and sent the items to the firm. However the firm's records showed receipt of only about 38 kg of items for repair.

The Court observed that such inconsistencies, coupled with the lack of oversight from Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) authorities during transport and handling of the items, called for an independent and court-monitored probe.

The Court also found that the TDB registers on temple jewellery lacked accuracy. It, therefore, appointed retired judge Justice KT Sankaran to oversee the conduct of a fresh and thorough inventory of all valuables at the Sabarimala temple.

Given the sensitive nature of the case, the Court held an in-camera hearing of the matter today. An interim order has also been dictated by the Court today, which is yet to be made public.

Senior government pleader S Rajmohan appeared for the State.

Standing counsel G Biju represented the Travancore Devaswom Board.

Advocate Sayujya Radhakrishnan appeared as an amicus curiae for the Sabarimala Special Commissioner.

Advocates R Sudhish and M Manju represented Unnikrishnan Potti.

[Read Notification on in-camera hearing]