Sabarimala gold theft case: Chargesheet to be filed only after election results

KOCHI: The charge sheet in the infamous Sabarimala gold theft case will be filed only after the election results are declared. SIT investigating officer SP S. Sasidharan reported to the High Court that the National Metallurgical Laboratory in Jamshedpur has informed that the detailed sample test results of the metal plates at the Sannidhanam will be available by the end of April. With this, the High Court allowed time till May 18 to complete the investigation. The Devaswom bench comprising Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice KV Jayakumar clarified that the SIT investigation is progressing in the right direction and systematically. It was also assessed that a comprehensive report will not be possible without the results of scientific testing.

Currently, 358 witnesses have been questioned. Investigations were conducted at the Mahalaxmi Layout Temple, Mundotty Palayam Temple, Sriramapuram Temple, Gauribidanur, Bellary, Hongasandra, and Vyalikaval in Karnataka and at Madanappally and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. The investigation is also progressing in connection with the gold plating of the Dwarpalaka idols that took place in 2025. The SIT also informed the court that 20 witnesses have been questioned in this case.

The High Court granted permission to the Vigilance to close the investigation into the case of irregularities and misuse in connection with the re-installation of the flagpole at Sabarimala in 2017. The Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Special Unit had conducted a preliminary investigation as per the court's directions. The report stated that there was no evidence of irregularities. The High Court accepted this, which came as a relief to UDF members, including Ajay Tharayil, who was on the Travancore Devaswom Board at that time.

Although there were allegations of irregularities in the amount of gold donated by devotees for the new flagpole, the vigilance report states that no criminal abuse or breach of trust was found. The Devaswom Mahazar states that the devotees donated 412 grams of gold. The vigilance had stated that during the investigation, it was found that the total donation was only 300 grams of gold. Considering this, the court allowed the investigation to be closed.