All documents from 1998 should be produced immediately; high court tightens Sabarimala gold plating issue

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has tightened inspection into the incident where the gold-plated sheets on the Dwarpalaka idols of Sabarimala shrine were taken to Chennai for repair. The court has directed to produce all documents related to the gold plating of the Sabarimala shrine, including the shrine, since 1998.

The Devaswom bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar has directed that all documents, including the register and Mahasar, from the time the shrine, Dwarpalaka sculpture, lintel, arch, etc were gold plated, be produced. Meantime, the Devaswom Board has apologized to the court for taking the sheets to Chennai without court's permission.

The court directed the chief vigilance and security officer to produce the documents kept at the Aranmula Thiruvabharanam office related to the gold plating, today itself. The court also directed the Chennai-based company 'Smart Creations', which took the gold plates for repair, to be made a party to the case. In 2019, a Malayali in Chennai sponsored the gold-plated sheets through this company. The Devaswom Board informed that is why it was taken to this company for repair.

The Dwarapalaka sculptures made of granite on both sides of the door of the shrine were covered with gold-plated copper sheets in 2019. In 1998, industrialist Vijay Mallya had gold-plated the Sabarimala shrine. The court has directed that all documents since that time be produced. The court also hinted that the documents were asked to be produced to examine what methods have been followed in relation to gold plating since then.