The Kerala High Court has stepped into the shadows surrounding Sabarimala temple’s treasured ornaments, directing retired Justice K.T. Sankaran to lead a full-scale audit of every jewel, plate, and relic locked inside the shrine’s vaults.
The order comes in the wake of troubling revelations—gold-plated copper panels once adorning the Dwarapalaka idols went missing weight for weight when sent for repairs. What was documented as 42.8 kilograms left the temple, but only about 38 kilograms made it to the Chennai workshop. A 4.5-kilo question mark now hangs over the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
A Division Bench headed by Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K.V. Jayakumar minced no words: the records of TDB were riddled with gaps, inconsistencies, and missing entries. Even more unsettling, a vigilance raid turned up concealed gold-plated pedhams at the home of a relative of the devotee who facilitated the repairs—items that never found their way into official registers.
In response, the Court has ordered a digitized, tamper-proof inventory of every valuable tied to the temple, from the Thiruvabharanam ornaments to gold-clad idols. Justice Sankaran will work alongside an expert appraiser to catalogue, verify, and value the treasures. The report, the Court stressed, must remain sealed in confidentiality.
Meanwhile, the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer of the TDB has been tasked with pursuing the probe in total secrecy—so secret, in fact, that even senior Devaswom officials are to be left in the dark. Their negligence in casually entrusting priceless relics without proper documentation is now under scrutiny.
The Dwarapalaka coverings themselves have a history. Installed in 1999, replaced in 2019 with a supposed 40-year guarantee, they were back in for repairs within six years. The Court has allowed their reinstallation, but the episode has cracked open a vault of questions on accountability.
The case will return to the High Court’s docket on October 27.