Turning blind eye to gold theft at Sabarimala: Judge also to be questioned

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district judge who was the special commissioner in Sabarimala is also under the SIT's question in the gold theft case. It is believed that the special commissioner appointed by the High Court to monitor and report on matters including administrative procedures in Sabarimala turned a blind eye to the gold theft in 2019.

The special commissioner is an officer who is legally responsible and has a duty to ensure that the Devaswom assets are safe. It was a judge who held this position from 2016 to 2024. The SIT assesses that although there is no possibility of this person's involvement in the gold theft, serious negligence was shown. The move is to prepare a questionnaire and question this judge with the permission of the High Court. This person is currently a district judge in Central Kerala.

The High Court was informed about the secret removal of the gold plates of the Dwarpalaka sculptures in 2025 by District Judge R Jayakrishnan, who was appointed as the Special Commissioner in June 2024 after this judge. The loot that had been going on for ages was revealed only after the High Court took the matter seriously. The Board had also not informed the Special Commissioner that it had given permission to Unnikrishnan Potty in 2024 to gold-plate the Dwarpalaka sculptures without following the procedures.

Has all powers, did not fulfill the duty

1. The Special Commissioner has extensive powers to know the daily affairs of Sabarimala and to examine the documents and board decisions. The High Court has given the Special Commissioner the power to stop it if any irregularities are found. That responsibility was not fulfilled.
2. The gold plates of the Dwarapalaka sculptures were removed on July 19, 2019, and the layers of the pillar plates on the south and north sides of the sculptures were removed on July 20, 2019, and taken to Smart Creations in Chennai. They were returned on September 11. The documents, including the Mahasar, were not correct.
3. The items were handed over to Potty without any official escort or police protection. The seven layers of the Prabhamandalam in the shrine, the rashi symbols attached to the door frame, the inscribed layers of the ten avatars, and the layer containing Shaiva and Vaishnava idols were smuggled. It is suspicious that the Special Commissioner did not inform the High Court about the serious irregularities.