The Kerala High Court on Wednesday, January 21, termed the misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala temple an “organised plunder” as it rejected the bail pleas of former Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar and co-accused Govardhan and Murari Babu.
Justice A Badharudeen noted that the accused wield considerable influence in society and could misuse their position if released on bail, pointing out in particular that Padmakumar continues to be a member of a political party. Padmakumar is a former MLA and Pattanamthitta CPI(M) district committee member.
The court said it was necessary to probe whether more persons were involved in the case and directed that the missing gold be fully recovered. It stressed that answers were required regarding the whereabouts of the looted assets and that further questioning of the petitioners, along with recently arrested accused, was essential.
The High Court also referred to lines from the song “Panchagni Madhye Thapas Cheythaalum Ee Paapakarmathin Prathikriyaakumo” from the Malayalam film Advaitham, stating that the finding of a large quantity of gold going missing from the Sabarimala sannidhanam would remind the public of the song. The court added that the theme of the film bore a close resemblance to the allegations in the case.
In a related development, the High Court also scrutinised the custody of former TDB member KP Sankaradas, the 11th accused in the case, who is currently in judicial custody. The court directed the constitution of a medical board to assess his health condition and determine whether his treatment could continue while he remained in jail, ordering that the report be submitted in a sealed cover. Sankaradas is undergoing treatment at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.
Sankaradas was arrested after a Vigilance Court judge visited the private hospital where he had been admitted. The High Court had earlier criticised the delay in his arrest, remarking that he continued to remain hospitalised because his son is an IPS officer. Following the court’s observations, the Special Investigation Team formally recorded his arrest and shifted him to the Medical College Hospital under jail custody.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate’s Kochi Zonal Office has widened its probe into the case, invoking provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. On January 20, the ED conducted searches at 21 locations across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in connection with what it described as a well-orchestrated money-laundering operation involving temple assets.
The ED’s investigation, based on two FIRs registered by the Kerala Police Crime Branch, has uncovered an alleged criminal conspiracy involving senior TDB officials, former temple administrators, private sponsors and jewellers. According to the agency, gold-clad artefacts of the Sabarimala temple, including Dwarapalaka idol components, pedestals and sanctum sanctorum door panels, were falsely recorded as “copper plates” between 2019 and 2025 and removed without authorisation.
The artefacts were allegedly transported to private facilities in Chennai and Karnataka, where gold was chemically extracted under the guise of repair work. The ED said it has seized incriminating documents, digital evidence and a 100-gram gold bar, and has frozen eight immovable properties of the prime accused valued at about Rs 1.3 crore. Investigations are continuing to trace the proceeds of crime and identify additional beneficiaries.
With IANS inputs