The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (November 5, 2025) directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case to conduct a scientific probe into how the gold could have been misappropriated during the repair and re-plating of the sacred artefacts, which include the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols, peedhom (pedestals) and doors of the temple.
It also directed the SIT to examine whether provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 are applicable in the case, considering the alleged involvement of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials. A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar further observed that the entire chain of events pointed to the systematic and deliberate misappropriation of temple assets, done under the guise of renovation and restoration.
Senior personnel of the SIT appeared before the court on Wednesday and were heard in-camera. After perusing a report submitted by the SIT, the court said the investigation is proceeding in the right track. It took strong exception to the alleged failure of the TDB officials in keeping the minutes book in order and the ‘serious discrepancies’ it noted in the minutes which were updated only till August 28.
