The granting of statutory bail to the accused after the expiry of the 90-day remand period will not derail the investigation into the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala temple, the Kerala High Court said on Wednesday. The probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is proceeding in the right direction, the court added.
The observations were made by the court while hearing a plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged gold loss.
A Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and K.V. Jayakumar noted that it had constituted the SIT and initiated the probe, which continued to be under its supervision. It further observed that the case was complex and extraordinary in nature, requiring a meticulous examination of procedural and other details, particularly as the SIT was dealing with multiple layers of transactions involving several individuals.
Three get bail
With regard to three of the 13 accused being granted statutory bail following the completion of their 90-day remand, the court said this would not weaken the prosecution. It observed that the SIT comprised capable police officers and added that a CBI probe could not be ordered in every case, especially since the personnel deputed to the Central agency often come from the same State police force.
