'Saw news report of robbing all gold in Sabarimala,’ harshly criticizes SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sharply criticized the gold theft in Sabarimala, stating that they will not grant anticipatory bail to anyone involved. The court made this clear while considering the anticipatory bail plea of former devaswom board secretary S Jayashree, the fourth accused in the case. The court extended the order restraining her arrest and directed her to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on February 18. The plea was considered by a bench headed by Justice Dipankar Datta.

While considering the case, another member of the bench, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, made some remarks related to the case. He said that he had seen reports of all gold in Sabarimala, including that from the temple flag mast, had been stolen. Heard that you are reportedly suffering from a serious illness and said arrangements could be made for treatment at AIIMS. The judge later asked whether there is an AIIMS facility in Kerala. The order extending protection from arrest was issued after consultation between the judges.

The SIT had informed the Supreme Court that Jayashree’s role in the case was clear and that she should not be granted bail. The SIT also stated that Jayashree acted against devaswom board decisions and needs to be questioned in custody, as mentioned in their affidavit.

The SIT found that Jayashree had allegedly altered the devaswom board minutes. It is alleged that she recorded in the minutes that copper sheets should be handed over to Unnikrishnan Potty. The FIR also states that despite knowing that the Dwarapalaka idol sheets were gold-plated, she recorded them as copper-coated. Initially, Jayashree approached the court citing health issues. She is a native of Thiruvalla but presently resides in Kakkanad.

Jayashree served as the devaswom board secretary from July 2017 to December 2019. She later worked as Thiruvabharanam Commissioner until her retirement in May 2020.