[Cites 12, Cited by 0]
Kerala High Court
K.S. Baiju vs State Of Kerala on 19 December, 2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A. BADHARUDEEN
FRIDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 / 28TH AGRAHAYANA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 14361 OF 2025
CRIME NO.3701/CB/CU-IV/TVM/D/2025 OF CRIME BRANCH,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Thiruvananthapuram
PETITIONER/4TH ACCUSED:
K.S. BAIJU, AGED 62 YEARS,
S/O. K.V. SREEDHARAN,
T.V. SADANAM, MAILODE DESOM,
POOYAPPALLY VILLAGE, KOTTARAKARA TALUK,
KOLLAM, PIN - 691537.
BY ADVS.
SRI.P.MOHANDAS (ERNAKULAM)
SRI.SABU PULLAN
SHRI.R.BHASKARA KRISHNAN
SHRI.BHARATH MOHAN
DR.K.P.SATHEESAN (SR.)
SRI.K.SUDHINKUMAR
RESPONDENTS/STATE & COMPLAINANT:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031.
2 THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE,
SIT CRIME BRANCH, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695001.
BY ADVS.
SRI GRACIOUS KURIAKOSE, ADDL.DIRECTOR GENERAL OF PROSECUTION
SENIOR PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI C.K SURESH
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
16.12.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl.NOs.14369/2025, 14394/2025 AND
CONNECTED CASES, THE COURT ON 19.12.2025 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
2
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A. BADHARUDEEN
FRIDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 / 28TH AGRAHAYANA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 14369 OF 2025
CRIME NO.3700/CB/CU-IV/TVM/D/2025 OF CRIME BRANCH,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Thiruvananthapuram
PETITIONER/7TH ACCUSED,:
K.S. BAIJU, AGED 62 YEARS
S/O. K.V. SREEDHARAN, T.V. SADANAM, MAILODE DESOM,
POOYAPPALLY VILLAGE, KOTTARAKARA TALUK,
KOLLAM, PIN - 691537.
BY ADVS.
SRI.P.MOHANDAS (ERNAKULAM)
SRI.K.SUDHINKUMAR
SRI.SABU PULLAN
SHRI.R.BHASKARA KRISHNAN
SHRI.BHARATH MOHAN
DR.K.P.SATHEESAN (SR.)
RESPONDENTS/STATE & COMPLAINANT:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031.
2 THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE
SIT, CRIME BRANCH, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695001.
BY ADVS.
SRI GRACIOUS KURIAKOSE, ADDL.DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
PROSECUTION
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
16.12.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl.NOs.14361/2025, 14394/2025 AND
CONNECTED CASES, THE COURT ON 19.12.2025 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
2025:KER:98196
B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
3
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A. BADHARUDEEN
FRIDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 / 28TH AGRAHAYANA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 14394 OF 2025
CRIME NO.3700/2025 OF CRIME BRANCH, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
Thiruvananthapuram
PETITIONER/2ND ACCUSED:
B. MURARI BABU, AGED 53 YEARS
S/O BALAKRISHNA PILLAI, THEKKEDATH (H)
PERUNNA WEST P 0. CHANGANASSERY, PIN - 686102.
BY ADVS.
SRI.S.RAJEEV
SRI.V.VINAY
SRI.M.S.ANEER
SHRI.SARATH K.P.
SHRI.ANILKUMAR C.R.
SHRI.K.S.KIRAN KRISHNAN
SMT.DIPA V.
SHRI.AKASH CHERIAN THOMAS
SHRI.AZAD SUNIL
SHRI.T.P.ARAVIND
SHRI.MAHESWAR PADICKAL
SMT.AKSHARA S.
RESPONDENT/STATE:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
HIGH COURT OF KERALA, PIN - 682031.
SRI GRACIOUS KURIAKOSE, ADDL.DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
PROSECUTION
SENIOR PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI C.K.SURESH
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
16.12.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl.NOs.14361/2025, 14369/2025 AND
CONNECTED CASES, THE COURT ON 19.12.2025 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
4
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A. BADHARUDEEN
FRIDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 / 28TH AGRAHAYANA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 14395 OF 2025
CRIME NO.3701/2025 OF CRIME BRANCH, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
Thiruvananthapuram
PETITIONER/6TH ACCUSED:
B. MURARI BABU, AGED 53 YEARS,
S/O BALAKRISHNA PILLAI, THEKKEDATH (H) PERUNNA WEST
P.O., CHANGANASSERY, PIN - 686102.
BY ADVS.
SRI.S.RAJEEV
SRI.V.VINAY
SRI.M.S.ANEER
SHRI.SARATH K.P.
SHRI.ANILKUMAR C.R.
SHRI.K.S.KIRAN KRISHNAN
SMT.DIPA V.
SHRI.AKASH CHERIAN THOMAS
SHRI.AZAD SUNIL
SHRI.MAHESWAR PADICKAL
SHRI.T.P.ARAVIND
SMT.AKSHARA S.
RESPONDENT/STATE:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA
(CRIME NO 3701/CB/.CU-IV/TVPM/D/2025) SIT CRIME
BRANCH), PIN - 682031.
BY ADVS.
SRI GRACIOUS KURIAKOSE, ADDL.DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
PROSECUTION
SRI C.K.SURESH, SENIOR PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
16.12.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..14361/2025 AND CONNECTED CASES,
THE COURT ON 19.12.2025 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
5
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A. BADHARUDEEN
FRIDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 / 28TH AGRAHAYANA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 14430 OF 2025
CRIME NO.3701/2025 OF CRIME BRANCH, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
PETITIONER/ACCUSED NO.3:
N VASU, AGED 75 YEARS,
S/O OF K NANU,KALHARAM (A), CKRRA 127/1, TC
93/2367(1) ,PALLI ROAD END, PETTAH P O, VANCHIYOOR
VILLAGE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695024.
BY ADVS.
SRI.S.RAJEEV
SRI.V.VINAY
SRI.M.S.ANEER
SHRI.SARATH K.P.
SHRI.ANILKUMAR C.R.
SHRI.K.S.KIRAN KRISHNAN
SMT.DIPA V.
SHRI.AKASH CHERIAN THOMAS
SHRI.AZAD SUNIL
SHRI.T.P.ARAVIND
SMT.AKSHARA S.
SHRI.MAHESWAR PADICKAL
RESPONDENT/STATE:
STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031.
BY ADVS.
SRI GRACIOUS KURIAKOSE, ADDL.DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
PROSECUTION
SRI C.K.SURESH, SENIOR PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
16.12.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..14361/2025 AND CONNECTED CASES,
THE COURT ON 19.12.2025 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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6
A. BADHARUDEEN, J.
================================
Bail Application Nos.14394 of 2025
14395 of 2025, 14361/2025, 14369/2025
and
Bail Application No.14430 of 2025
================================
Dated this the 19th December, 2025
COMMON ORDER
B.Murari Babu, who got arrayed as the 2 nd accused in Crime
No.3700/2025 of Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram, and 6 th accused in
Crime No.3701/2025 of Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram, has filed
B.A.Nos.14394/2025 and 14395/2025 under Section 483 of the Bharatiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (`BNSS' for short), seeking regular bail.
2. B.A.Nos.14361/2025 and 14369/2025 are at the instance
of Sri K.S.Baiju, who is arrayed as 4 th accused in Crime No.3701/2025 and
7th accused in Crime No.3700/2025.
3. B.A.No.14430/2025 is an application filed by N.Vasu,
the 3rd accused in Crime No.3701/2025 seeking regular bail.
4. Heard the learned counsel for Sri Murari Babu, Sri
K.S.Baiju and Sri N.Vasu as well as the learned Additional Director
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General of Prosecution (`ADGP' for short) appearing for the prosecution.
Meticulously analysed the statements and records produced by the
prosecution before this Court in Crime Nos.3700/2025 and 3701/2025
along with the documents produced by the respective counsel for the
petitioners.
5. Coming to the prosecution case, Crime No.3700/2025
was initially registered alleging commission of offences punishable under
Sections 120B, 403, 406, 409, 466, 467 r/w. Section 34 of the Indian Penal
Code (hereinafter referred to as 'IPC'), by the accused.
6. Again Crime No.3701/2025 was registered alleging
commission of offences punishable under Sections 120B, 403, 406, 409,
466, 467 r/w. 34 of the IPC, by the accused.
7. In both crimes, during investigation, on finding
involvement of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act as
amended in 2018 (hereinafter referred to as 'PC (Amendment) Act, 2018'),
offence under Section 13(1)(a) of the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018 was also
added. The prosecution case in Crime No.3700/2025 is that, in furtherance
of a common intention of all the accused to obtain wrongful gain and to
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cause wrongful loss to the Travancore Devaswom Board, the 1 st accused
hatched conspiracy with accused Nos.2 to 10, who are bound to protect
Devaswom properties, submitted an application before the Travancore
Devaswom Board on 17.6.2019, in consequence of the conspiracy hatched
between them for exacting that the Dwarapalaka sculptures made of
copper plates in the Sabarimala Sannidhanam Shrine to be enshrouded
with gold by process of cladding. The prosecution allegation further is
that the 2nd accused, the then Administrative Officer, Sabarimala, and all
other accused are fully aware that the Dwarapalaka sculptures were
originally gold cladded in 1998, the 2nd accused wrote a letter in the year
2019 that they were just copper plates, which were intended to be plated
with gold, and submitted a false report before the Travancore Devaswom
Board in this regard. Then, in the year 2024, the 2 nd accused again made an
illegal recommendation to the Devaswom Board to allow 'Smart
Creations', Chennai, for gold plating the Dwarapalaka sculptures. The 3 rd
accused, the then Executive Officer of Sabarimala Temple, who also knew
that the plates of Dwarapalaka sculptures were enshrouded in gold,
prepared a false recommendation letter stating that the golden plates are
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just copper plates and submitted the said letter to the Travancore
Devaswom Board, for the purpose of giving the same to the accused.
Thereafter, at the time of handing over the plates to the 1 st accused, the 3rd
accused prepared mahazars stating that the gold plates are just copper
plates and falsely included the names of persons, who were not present at
the time of preparing the mahazars, and recorded in the mahazars that the
plates were being given to the 1st accused, and the signatures of the friends
of the 1st accused were obtained. Accordingly, the 4th accused, the then
Secretary, Travancore Devaswom Board ordered to handover the plates on
Dwarapalaka sculptures to the 1st accused, as against the Board Minutes.
The 5th and the 6th accused, although they knew that the Dwarapalaka
sculptures were enshrouded with gold plates, put their signatures on the
mahazars prepared on 19.07.2019 and 20.07.2019 as witnesses and caused
the articles to be handed over to the 1 st accused, and on 11.09.2019, when
the Dwarapalaka sculptures were brought back to Sabarimala, prepared the
second mahazar, without checking its actual weight. It is further alleged
that, the 7th accused, the then Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of
Sabarimala Devaswam, who was duty bound to look after all these
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matters, did not depute a goldsmith at the time of removing the golden
plates from the Dwarapalaka sculptures. Thereafter, on 29.08.2019, the 8 th
accused, the then Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of Sabarimala
Devaswam, in the Smart Creation in Chennai, handed over the sculpture
layers to the 1st accused, without comparing its weight in the mahazars,
and thereby gave an opportunity to the 1st accused to perform pooja by
illegally displaying the said Dwarapalaka sculptures in various places and
houses. After that, on 11.09.2019, when the sculpture layers were restored
in the shrine, the 8th accused was not present there and did not depute the
Devaswom Smith, though his presence was mandatory at the time of
handling the valuable items. On 11.09.2019, while installing the layers on
the Dwarapalaka sculptures, accused Nos 9 and 10, the then Executive
Officer and Administrative Officer of Sabarimala, prepared a namesake
mahazar without correctly measuring its weight and recorded the same in
the registers. Furthermore, accused No. 10 did not prepare mahazar while
attempting to fix the Thangupeedham (താങ്ങുപീഠം) belonged to
Sabarimala Devaswom on the Dwarapalaka sculptures. It is further alleged
that, when accused Nos.2 and 3 sent a letter to the Travancore Devaswom
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Board in 2019, recommending for gold plating the Dwarapalaka
sculptures, the 10th accused, who was holding the charge of Devaswom
Commissioner at the relevant time, did not inspect the Dwarapalaka
sculptures. Thus, the very valuable and sacred Dwarapalaka sculptures of
the Sabarimala shrine and the gold plates weighing 42800 grams attached
to the northern and southern corners of the said sculptures were given in
custody of the 1st accused on 19.07.2019 and 20.07.2019 under the pretext
of repair and maintenance to Bangalore and Hyderabad, where they used
the sculptures to remove the originally cladded gold therein fraudulently
for obtaining undue pecuniary advantage thereof. Then the accused
persons entrusted the sculptures to Smart Creation, Chennai on
29.08.2019, where, only 394.900 grams of gold was plated on the
sculptures and misappropriated the remaining gold and thereby caused a
huge loss to Travancore Devaswom Board and consequence to the holy
deity Sabarimala.
8. In Crime No.3701/2025 the prosecution allegation as
minusculed in the FIR in Crime No.3700/2025 is that the accused in this
crime hatched conspiracy with a view to clad gold on the door frames in
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front of the Sabarimala Sreekovil which were originally cladded with gold
and thereafter they forged records to show that the door frames were
originally made of copper and taken out the same through the 1 st accused
on the premise of cladding the same with gold and thereby the 1st accused,
as part of the conspiracy hatched between the accused persons, produced
the same before Smart Creations, Chennai, and during the investigation,
409 gram of gold, which had been misappropriated, was taken into custody
by the Investigating Officer from Smart Creations, Chennai, and more gold
is awaiting to be recovered. Even though in the FIR the allegation refers
only to door frames, now the prosecution allegation is that apart from the
door frames, the Shiva idol on its top, the arch including the Vyali roopam,
raashi plates, Dasharadha plates and the upper side of the door frame also,
originally cladded with gold, were entrusted to the 1 st accused on the
premise of gold cladding, describing the entire items as items made of
copper.
9. While pressing for the grant of regular bail to B.Murari
Babu in both crimes, the prime contention raised by the learned counsel
for B.Murari Babu is that, regarding prosecution allegations and their
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correctness Murari Babu has serious dispute, including his involvement in
this crime, after hatching conspiracy as alleged by the prosecution. Now
Murari Babu has been in custody from 22.10.2025 and his custody for the
purpose of investigation is practically over. It is also pointed out that
Murari Babu is now aged 75 years and has been suffering from diabetics,
high blood pressure and associated ailments and in this regard medical
records were also produced. Therefore, the learned counsel for Murari
Babu submitted that on merits Murari Babu deserves bail, or else his
medical condition may be considered for granting bail, since his further
custody is not required for the purpose of investigation.
10. While canvassing bail to Sri N.Vasu in Crime
No.3701/2025, the learned counsel for N.Vasu argued that, N.Vasu is
involved only in this crime. According to the learned counsel for N.Vasu,
N.Vasu worked as Commissioner, Travancore Devaswom Board from
10.11.2010 to 15.03.2013 and also from 01.02.2018 to 31.01.2019 and he
continued upto 14.03.2019 as Devaswom Commissioner, as his tenure was
extended by this Court upto 14.03.2019. It is also submitted that N.Vasu
was appointed as the President of the Travancore Devaswom Board on
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15.11.2019 and he continued as President till 14.11.2021. According to
the learned counsel for N.Vasu, going by Annexure III letter dated
06.03.2019 issued by N.Vasu to the Secretary, Travancore Devaswom
Board, he had recommended the Board to take a proper decision, when he
received Annexure I letter dated 16.02.2019 from the Executive Officer
and in Annexure III he had stated that the door frames of Sreekovil
originally made of copper also to be cladded with gold. The prime
contention of the learned counsel for N.Vasu is that in Annexure I letter,
issued by Executive Officer, Sabarimala to the Devaswom Commissioner,
Travancore Devaswom Board dated 16.02.2019, the door frames were
described as one which were originally gold cladded. But, the prosecution
has no case that the door frames were originally gold cladded and, in fact,
the recommendation made by N.Vasu is only to clad gold on the door
frames which were not either gold plated or cladded at any point of time.
According to the learned counsel, though the allegation against N.Vasu is
that he had recommended that the door frames, which were originally
cladded with gold, to be again cladded with gold the door frames, which
were not at all gold plated and the same were copper plated in their origin.
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Apart from that the learned counsel for N.Vasu pointed out the custody of
N.Vasu, who is aged 75 years, from 11.11.2025 and the progress of the
investigation to grant bail to N.Vasu.
11. The learned Senior Counsel, who canvassed regular bail
to K.S.Baiju, who is the 4th accused in Crime No.3701/2025 and 7th
accused in Crime No.3700/2025, zealously pointed out that the only
allegation raised in Crime No.3700/2025 against K.S.Baiju is that
K.S.Baiju, being Thiruvabharana Commissioner and the custodian of
Dwarapalaka idols and other items, failed to supervise or to appoint a
goldsmith to ensure that the Dwarapalaka idols and other items were gold
cladded at the time of entrustment of the same to the 1 st accused.
According to him, K.S.Baiju was asked by the President to go to Aranmula
and oversee a contempt case against the President on the date of
entrustment of the items in Crime No.3700/2025, and since he could not
disobey the President, he was in Aranmula during the relevant time.
According to the learned counsel for K.S.Baiju, in fact, K.S.Baiju has no
involvement in the conspiracy or in the misappropriation in these crimes.
Similar contentions are also raised in Crime No.3701/2025 while
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canvassing bail to K.S.Baiju. In fact, the contention raised by the learned
Senior Counsel is akin to a plea of alibi; which could not be considered at
the stage of bail, particularly since no convincing material in this regard
has been placed.
12. The learned ADGP vehemently opposed all the
contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners specifically by
filing statements and additional statement on the submission that during
investigation of Crime No.3700/2025, the mobile phone of Murari Babu
was seized and forwarded to the State Forensic Science Laboratory
(`SFSL' for short), Thiruvananthapuram through the J.E, Ranni for
detailed forensic analysis. In response to the same, the Director of the
SFSL, Thiruvananthapuram now forwarded letter dated 08.12.2025
reporting that the expert could not open the mobile phone as the same had
been locked by using face ID (bio-metric authentification). According to
the learned ADGP, the contents of the mobile phone have vital materials
in connection with both these crimes. Therefore, opening the same with
the assistance of Murari Babu in police custody and getting contents of the
same are absolutely essential and in such a case, Murari Babu could not be
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released on bail.
13. It is also submitted by the learned ADGP that insofar as
the involvement of Murari Babu in Crime No.3700/2025 is concerned, the
1st accused Unnikrishnan Potti, sent a letter on 17.06.1991 to the Executive
Officer, Sabarimala, with request to clad gold to the Dwarapalaka idols by
wrongly describing the same as one made of copper ignoring the fact that
the same were originally cladded with gold. Even though the
Administrative Officer, Sabarimala (Murari Babu) is not the Executive
Officer, he had issued a letter on 17.06.2019 itself to the Executive Officer
along with the letter given by the 1 st accused addressed to the Executive
Officer with request to allow the application put up by the 1 st accused
describing the Dwarapalaka idols as one originally made of copper. The
learned ADGP zealously pointed out that in the letter dated 17.06.2019
issued by Murari Babu, in the last portion he had stated that he had
obtained permission to do the work from Sreekandararu Rajeev, the
Thantri of the temple in writing. According to the learned ADGP, on
perusing the letter given by Thantri, in fact, the same was dated
18.06.2019. Thus the contention raised by the learned ADGP is that in
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Crime No.3700/2025 even before getting the letter to Thantri dated
18.06.2019, the Administrative Officer recommended to the Executive
Officer stating that he had obtained permission to do the work and the
same alone would show his mala fide intention of getting the Dwarapalaka
idols originally cladded with gold to be sent out for the purpose of
removing the gold cladded therein with intention to sell and
misappropriate the funds thereof.
14. In addition to that, the learned ADGP filed separate
statement in Crime No.3701/2025 while opposing the grant of bail to
Murari Babu. According to the learned ADGP, these crimes are very
serious, where the interest of the holy deity of Sabarimala and lakhs of
devotees is involved and when gold cladded items were sent outside as
against the Devaswom manual which prohibits sending of any item outside
the Sannidhanam with intention to misappropriate the same, the accused
doesn't deserve bail and his trial is to be completed keeping him in
custody.
15. As regards to the plea raised by N.Vasu is concerned, the
learned ADGP would submit that even though in the FIR in Crime
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No.3701/2025 the door frames alone were stated, the investigation based
on the available records and the statements of witnesses showed that apart
from the door frames, the Shiva idol on its top, the arch including the
Vyali roopam, Raashi plates, Dasharadha plates and the upper side of the
door frame also were also decided to be cladded with gold describing the
same as copper plated in its origin. According to the learned ADGP, in
this regard, the statements of many persons including Annexure I letter
issued by the Executive Officer to Devaswom Commissioner is available,
wherein the door frames also were stated as items which were cladded
with gold earlier. That apart, the statements of witnesses, viz.,
Balakrishnan, S/o.Chinnayya; Nagarajan, S/o.Sankaran; Maniyasan,
S/o.Gopalakrishann; Ramanujan, S/o.Sivaraman; Premji M.J,
S/o.Janardhanan Pilla; K.Kumaran Nair, S/o.Ravikumar; Bharagvan,
S/o.V.Kesavadas; C.R.Rajasekharan, S/o.Chellappan Pilla, showing that
the door frames were also originally cladded with gold, are given emphasis
by the learned ADGP while strongly opposing bail to N.Vasu, who also
worked as Commissioner, Travancore Devaswom Board during the
relevant period, showing his involvement in this crime. According to the
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learned ADGP, in fact, the recital in Annexure I, showing that the door
frames were originally cladded with gold, was suppressed by N.Vasu
while issuing Annexure III letter describing the door frames as made of
copper without any gold cladding, would emphatically show his
involvement in this crime. Therefore, the bail plea canvassed by learned
counsel for N.Vasu could not be countenanced.
16. Regarding the bail plea at the instance of K.S.Baiju is
concerned, the same also seriously opposed by the learned ADGP showing
his involvement and according to the learned ADGP, K.S.Baiju, who was
the Thiruvabharana Commissioner and his sole duty is to protect and
safeguard Thiruvabharanam, sacred trust property of the deity, (ie. the
items in both crimes are relating to Thiruvabharanam). Therefore, his
contention that he had gone to Aranmula as directed by the President etc.
are of no avail to him since he failed to see the actual nature of the items
by appointing a Goldsmith at the time of entrustment of the same to the 1 st
accused.
17. Thus the learned ADGP strongly opposed grant of bail to
the petitioners herein on the submission that the investigation is only at a
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
primitive stage and the investigation has to progress much. According to
him, the release of the petitioners on bail in cases of serious nature like the
present, where the petitioners are capable of influencing witnesses and
destroying the relevant materials to be collected in continuation of the
investigation, would impede the investigation. Separate statements in both
the crimes also were filed by the Investigating Officer. In the report filed
in B.A.No.14369/2025 in Crime No.3700/2025, it has been stated as
under:
"3. It is submitted that, as the custodial interrogation of the
petitioner was highly essential, request along with affidavit had been
submitted before the Hon'ble Enquiry Commissioner & Special Judge,
Kollam and the Hon'ble Court had granted the custody application and
as such, on 29.11.2025, Sri. S.S. Sureshbabu, Dy. Superintendent of
Police, Crime Branch received A7 into Police custody. After conducting
investigation and questioning A7 thoroughly Sri. S.S. Sureshbabu, Dy.
Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch produced him before the Court
and the Court remanded him in judicial custody.
4. Sri. K.S. Baijoo, the petitioner herein, was the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner of Travancore Devaswom Board from 19.07.18 to
31.07.2019. Even though, the office of the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner is functioning at Aranmula, various temples including
Sree Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala is under the jurisdiction of A7. As
per the Devaswom Manual Vol-1, Chapter-XV Page- 72 (Annexure - I) it
is the duty of the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner to make arrangements
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for the proper preservation and custody of all Thiruvabharanams and all
belongings of Devaswoms and as per Devaswom Manual Vol-I, Chapter-
XV, Page-72 & 73 (Annexure - II) it is the duty of the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner to maintain in his office the registers of Thiruvabharanam
and to keep them up-to-date. But Sri. Baijoo, the petitioner herein,
miserably failed in observing the directions as stated above.
5. As per the Devaswam Manual Vol-II Chapter-IX Page 116, (Annexure
- III) all works involving the valuables of Devaswom should always be
carried out within the Devaswom premises in the presence of a
responsible officer authorized by the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner
and in page 117 (Annexure - IV) it is specifically mentioned that detailed
mahazer showing the weight, touch of the articles should be prepared
when old articles are handed over to contractors and another mahazer
should be prepared when newly made or prepared articles are accepted
from the contractors. It is also mentioned that the value of the metals
unaccounted for by the contractor should be recovered from him. But
Mr. Baijoo, the petitioner herein, had clearly violated the mandatory
provisions of the Manual by not supervising the removal of gold cladded
plates and also by not deputing the Devaswom smith attached to his
office, at the time of preparation of the mahazer.
6. A7, being the then Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, evaded from his
duty by not complying the orders of the Board, not authorizing a
responsible officer and also failed to direct the Devaswom Smith to take
the estimate of the valuables and there by paving the way for the
misappropriation of gold.
7. The fact that the petitioner had abstained himself from preparing a
mahazer when stripping the dwarapalaka idol plates and corner pillar
plates on 19.07.2019 and 20.07.2019 was done without procure any legal
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order from the Devaswom Board. The depth of conspiracy hatched
among the accused persons as well as the monitory benefit obtained are
being probed.
PARA-WAR REMARKS ON THE STATEMENT OF FACTS
A. The petitioner is cited accused No. 7 in Crime No. as
3700/CB/CU-IV/TVPM/D/2025 of Crime Branch Police Station
B. XXX
C. XXX
D. XXX
E. During the period of the commission of the offence in this
case, the petitioner was serving as the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner
of Travancore Devaswom Board. As per the Devaswom Manual Vol-I,
Chapter-XV clause 3(1) (Page- 72) it is the duty of the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner to make arrangements for the proper
preservation and custody of all Thiruvabharanams and all belongings of
Devaswoms and as per Devaswom Manual Vol-1, Chapter-XV, clause-
3(4) (Page- 72 & 73) it is the duty of the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner to maintain in his office the registers of
Thiruvabharanam and to keep them up-to-date. But Sri. Baijoo, the
petitioner herein, miserably failed in observing the directions as stated
above. Similarly as per the Devaswam Manual Vol-II Chapter-IX Page
116 all works involving the valuables of Devaswom should always be
carried out within the Devaswom premises in the presence of a
responsible officer authorized by the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner
and in page 117 it is specifically mentioned that detailed mahazer
showing the weight, touch of the articles should be prepared when old
articles are handed over to contractors and another mahazer should be
prepared when newly made or prepared articles are accepted from the
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
contractors. It is also mentioned that the value of the metals
unaccounted for by the contractor should be recovered from him. But
Mr. Baijoo, the petitioner herein, had clearly violated the mandatory
provisions of the Manual by not supervising the removal of gold cladded
plates and also not deputing the Devaswom smith attached to his office,
at the time of preparation of the mahzer.
In this case, on 17.06.2019, the 1 accused, Sri. Unnikrishnan
Potty addressed a letter to the 3rd accused, Sri. Sudheesh Kumar,
(Executive Officer, Sabarimala) stating that he would repair and
gold plate the Dwarapalaka idol plates and the side plates on
sponsorship basis. The 2nd accused, Sri. Murari Babu, the then
Administrative Officer of Sabarimala, took the letter from A1 and
forwarded it to A3 along with his own letter wherein he purposefully
and with ulterior motives misrepresented the Gold cladded plates as
just "Chembu Palikal". The 3rd accused forwarded this letter to the
Devaswom Commissioner on 18.06.2019, again falsely representing
the plates as "Chembu Thakidukal".On 28.06.2019, the Deputy
Devaswom Commissioner of the office of the Devaswom
Commissioner sent a letter to the Secretary, A4, citing the letter of A3
seeking orders for permission to get the repair works and gold
plating works of the "Chembu Thakidukal" of the Dwrapalaka plates
done by Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (A1). A4, who was the Secretary of
the Board included this proposal in the agenda for the Board meeting
that was to be held on 03.07.2019. The Board discussed the matter as
item No. 77 and accorded permission.
The minutes was signed by the President, 2 members and A4
Jayasree. On 05.07.2019, the Board issued its proceedings on the
above matter. The proceedings was signed by A4. The proceeding of
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the Board is as follows:-
തിരുവാഭരണം കമ്മീഷണർ,എകി്സ ക്യൂട്ടീവ് ആഫീസർ ശബരിമല,
്മ
അഡിനിസ്ട്രേറ്റീവ് ആഫീസർ ശബരിമല, ശബരിമല തന്ത്രി,
എകി്സ ക്യൂട്ടീവ് എൻജിനീയർ, ശബരിമല, അസിസ്റ്റൻ്റ ് എൻജിനീയർ
ശബരിമല എന്നിവരുടെ സാന്നിദ്ധ്യത്തിൽ നിലവിൽ ശ്രീകോവിലിൻ്റെ
കതകിന് ഇരുവശത്തും ഉള്ള ദ്വാരപാലകന്മാരെ പൊതിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ള ചെമ്പ്
പാളികളും, കൂടാതെ തെക്ക് വടക്ക് മൂലകളിൽ പൊതിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ള ചെമ്പ്
തകിടുകളും ഇളക്കി മഹസ്സർ പ്രകാരം തൂക്കം, അളവ് എന്നിവ
ബോദ്ധ്യപ്പെട്ട് ്ണ
ശ്രീ ഉണ്ണികൃഷൻ പോറ്റിക്ക് സ്വർണ്ണം പൂശുന്നതിനായി
കൈമാറുന്നതിനും, തിരുവാഭരണം കമ്മീഷണറുടെ മേൽനോട്ടത്തിൽ
സ്വർണ്ണം പൂശുന്നതിനും അതിന് ശേഷം ശബരിമല എകി്സ ക്യൂട്ടീവ്
്മ
ആഫീസർ, അഡിനിസ്ട്രേറ്റീവ് ആഫീസർ ശബരിമല, ശബരിമല തന്ത്രി,
എകി്സ ക്യൂട്ടീവ് എൻജിനീയർ, ശബരിമല, അസിസ്റ്റൻ്റ ് എൻജിനീയർ
ശബരിമല എന്നിവരുടെ സാന്നിദ്ധ്യത്തിൽ ശാസ്ത്രവിധി പ്രകാരം
തിരികെ ഫിറ്റു ചെയ്യുന്നതിനും അനുവദിച്ച് ബോർഡുത്തരവാകുന്നു
Following the circulation of the Board order to A2, A3, A7 and others, 2
separate mahazers were prepared on 19.07.2019 and 20.07.2019 to
dismantle and hand over the 12 Dwarapalaka plates and 2 side plates
respectively to A1 Unnikrishnan Potty for repair works and gold plating.
But the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, the petitioner herein,
deliberately abstained himself from being present at the time of
dismantling, as directed by the Devaswom Board and also failed to
authorize the Devaswom Smith to take the estimate. Both the mahazers
were signed by A2, A3 and others and on both the mahazers the Copper
plates were deliberately misrepresented as Chembu Thakidukal" instead
of Gold cladded Copper plates which indicates the devious designs of the
accused to hand over the Gold cladded plates to A1 which later paved
way for the misappropriation of the gold from these plates.
By abstaining from his official responsibilities, he committed
grave misconduct and thereby he aided the handing over of the
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
Dwarapalaka idol plates and side plates to A1, which subsequently led to
the misappropriation of Gold from these plates by Al and other accused
at Smart Creation Chennai. Hence the contention of the petitioner that he
has not committed any act or omissions is devoid of any merit and thus is
not maintainable.
F). Here, the A7, being the then Thiruvabharanam Commissioner,
evaded from his duty by not complying the orders of the Board, did not
authorize a responsible officer and also failed to direct the Devaswom
Smith to take estimate of the valuables and there by paved the way for the
misappropriation of gold. The depth of conspiracy hatched among the
accused persons as well as the monitory benefit obtained are being
probed.
G). The petitioner herein was the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of
the Travancore Devaswam Board having jurisdiction over the
Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Temple. The Commissioner of
Thirvabharanam is duty bound to preserve and protect all
Thiruvabharanams under his Charge. The duties and responsibilities of
the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner are enumerated in Chapter XV of
the Travancore Devaswom manual -I (2012). Also, under clause 23 of
Chapter IX of the Travancore Devaswam Board Volume II (2011) works
involving the use and handling of valuables belonging to the Devaswom
should always be carried out at a place within the Devaswom premises
and in the presence of a responsible officer authorized by the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner. During investigation it is revealed that
the petitioner conspired with the remaining accused, intentionally
violated all the mandatory provisions of Devaswom Manual in order to
aid the accused persons in the misappropriation of gold from the
Dwarapalaka plates and side plates.
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
H). Under clause 23 of Chapter IX of the Travancore Devaswam Board
Volume II (2011) works involving the use and handling of valuables
belonging to the Devaswom should always be carried out at a place
within the Devaswom premises and in the presence of a responsible
officer authorized by the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner. Here, the
petitioner herein being the then Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, evaded
from his duty by not complying the orders of the Board, by not
authorizing a responsible officer and also failed to direct the Devaswom
Smith to take estimate of the valuables and there by paving the way for
the misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka plates and side
plates.
I). The investigation of the case is still in progress. The nature and
involvement of more employees and officials of Travancore Devaswom
Board are being probed, certain documents relating to the offence have
not yet been made available by the Devaswom board despite issuing
notices and even after conducting legal searches at some offices.
Moreover detailed investigation is being done to fully recover the
misappropriated gold."
18. Similarly, in the report filed in B.A.No.14361/2025 in
Crime No.3701/2025, in paragraphs 3 to last it has been stated as under:
"3). Mr. K.S. Baijoo, the petitioner herein, was the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of Travancore Devaswom Board from
19.07.2018 to 31.07.2019. Even though, the office of the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner is functioning at Aranmula, various
temples including Sree Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala is under the
jurisdiction of the petitioner (A4). As per the Devaswom Manual Vol-I,
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
Chapter-XV Page- 72 (Annexure - I) it is the duty of the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner to make arrangements for the proper
preservation and custody of all Thiruvabharanams and all belongings
of Devaswoms and as per Devaswom Manual Vol-I, Chapter-XV, Page-
72 & 73 (Annexure - II) it is the duty of the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner to maintain in his office the registers of
Thiruvabharanam and to keep them up-to-date. But Mr. Baijoo, the
petitioner herein, miserably failed in observing the directions as stated
above and criminally conspired with other officials of the Board in
order to hand over the artefacts to A1, a private individual, which paved
way for the misappropriation of gold from the sacred plates.
4). The petitioner had worked as the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of
the Travancore Devaswom Board having jurisdiction over the Sree
Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala. Being a senior official of Travancore
Devaswam Board and having clear knowledge that the door-frame
plates and connected prabhavalayam plates were indeed gold plated, he
prepared a mahazer on 18.05.2019, at the time of dismantling of gold
cladded door frames of the Sreekovil, stating that those were mere
copper plates based on the Board order, ROC 9097/18/M dated
20.03.2019. Even though he had the knowledge that the door frames and
connected "prabhavalayam" plates were gold cladded and also the
Devaswom smith was present during the preparation of the mahazer, the
mahazer is silent about the presence of gold cladding. Moreover, the
plates were misrepresented as mere copper plates on the mahazer which
indicates that the contents of the mahazer were falsified willfully and
with dishonest intention. After gold plating at Smart Creations Chennai,
the 7 pieces were brought back to Sabarimala and reinstalled. But the
weights of the plates were not recorded during the re-installation and no
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
mahazer was prepared. This is in gross violation of the provisions
contained in Devaswom Board Manual Vol-II, Chapter IX, Page 117,
(Annexure - III) wherein it is specifically mentioned that detailed
mahazer showing the weight, touch, etc. of the articles as per accounts
and as actually found at the time, should be prepared when gold articles
are handed over to contractors and another mahazer showing the
weight, touch etc of articles newly made or repaired should be prepared
when the articles are accepted back from the contractors. By making
false entries in the mahazer and by handing over the sacred door frame
plates to Al without any escort and without executing any proper
agreement and by not taking the weight of the door frame plates and
also by not making relevant entries in the Devaswom registers, A4, K.S.
Baijoo committed grave official misconduct and administrative
malpractice which resulted in the misappropriation of gold by A1 and
others. For the purpose of cheating, the petitioner criminally conspired
with the other accused, ignored the procedures as mandated by the
Travancore Devaswam Board Manuals and aided the other accused to
commit misappropriation of gold.
5). As per the Devaswam Manual Vol-II Chapter-IX Page 116,
(Annexure - IV) all works involving the valuables of Devaswom should
always be carried out within the Devaswom premises in the presence of
a responsible officer authorized by the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner. But the petitioner violated the provision by allowing the
sacred gold cladded door frame plates to be handed over to A1
Unnikrishnan Potty which ultimately led to the misappropriation of gold
by A1 and others at Smart Creations, Chennai. As per Devaswom Board
manual Vol-II, chapter IX page 117, it is specifically mentioned that
detailed mahazer showing the weight, touch of the articles should be
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
prepared when old articles are handed over to contractors and another
mahazer should be prepared when newly made or prepared articles are
accepted from the contractors. It is also mentioned that the value of the
metals unaccounted for by the contractor should be recovered from him.
But Mr.Baijoo, the petitioner herein, did not prepare the mahazer and
did not take the weight of the plates, when the gold plated door frame
plates were re-installed at Sabarimala after gold plating at Smart
Creations, Chennai. Had a proper mahazer describing the weight,
touch, etc of the plates, being taken at the time of re-installation, any
loss in weight/ misappropriation could have been detected then and
there itself and appropriate remedial measures have been taken.
Investigation conducted so far revealed that the petitioner had
purposefully abstained from preparing a proper mahazer with the
malicious intention of concealing the misappropriation of the gold at
Chennai.
6). During the course of investigation it is revealed that the petitioner
had committed grave offences by making false entries in the mahazer
and by handing over the sacred door frame plates to A1, a private
person, without any escort and without executing any proper agreement
and by not taking the weight of the door frame plates and connected
prabhavalayam plates and also by not making relevant entries in the
Devaswom registers. These grave official misconduct and administrative
malpractice were resulted in the misappropriation of gold by A1 and
others.
7). The depth of conspiracy hatched among the accused persons as well
as the monitory benefit obtained are being probed.
PARA-WAR REMARKS ON THE GROUNDS
F. The petitioner is cited as accused No. 4 in Crime No.
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
3701/CB/CU- IV/TVPM/D/2025 of Crime Branch Police Station
G. The contention of the petitioner is devoid of any merits.
H. XXX
I. XXX
J. During the period of the commission of the offence in this
case, the petitioner had been serving as the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner of Travancore Devaswom Board. As per the Devaswom
Manual Vol-I, Chapter-XV Para-3 (1) it is the duty of the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner to make arrangements for the proper
preservation and custody of all Thiruvabharanams and all belongings of
Devaswoms and as per Devaswom Manual Vol-I, Chapter-XV, Para-
3(4) it is the duty of the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner to maintain in
his office, the registers of Thiruvabharanam and to keep them up-to-
date. But Mr.Baijoo, the petitioner herein, miserably failed in observing
the directions as stated above. Similarly, as per the Devaswam Manual
Vol-II Chapter-IX Page 116 all works involving the valuables of
Devaswom should always be carried out within the Devaswom premises
in the presence of a responsible officer authorized by the
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner and in page 117 it is specifically
mentioned that detailed mahazer showing the weight, touch of the
articles should be prepared when old articles are handed over to
contractors and another mahazer should be prepared when newly made
or prepared articles are accepted from the contractors. It is also
mentioned that the value of the metals unaccounted for by the contractor
should be recovered from him. But Mr. Baijoo, the petitioner herein,
had clearly violated the mandatory provisions of the Manual by not
supervising the removal of gold cladded door frames and connected
Prabhavalayam plates and did not use the service of Devaswom Smith.
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
The petitioner failed to supervise the gold re-plating works of the
artefacts at Smart Creations, Chennai and also did not ascertain the
weight of the door frames when brought back to Sabarimala after re-
plating. The petitioner also did not prepare a mahazer at the time of re-
installation.
K. Here, the petitioner, being the then Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner, prepared a mahazer on 18.05.2019 at the time of
dismantling process of the 7 pieces of gold cladded door frames of the
Sreekovil based on the Board order ROC 9097/18/M dated 20.03.2019.
On a close scrutiny of the mahazer, when read in conjunction with the
statement of witnesses, indicate that the mahazer was prepared
inaccurately and in a highly irresponsible manner. The mahazer is silent
about the presence of gold cladding even though the Devaswom Smith
was present during the preparation of the mahazer. Moreover, the plates
were misrepresented as mere copper plates on the mahazer which
indicates that the contents of the mahazer were falsified willfully and
with dishonest intention. The weights of the plates were not recorded
during the re-installation and no mahazer was prepared. By making
false entries in the mahazer and by not executing an agreement, he
aided the handing over of the sacred door frame plates to A1, a private
person, without any escort, in gross violation of the provisions of
Devaswom Manual. By not taking the weight of the door frame plates
and also by not making relevant entries in the Devaswom registers, the
petitioner concealed the misappropriation of gold by A1 and others at
Smart Creations, Chennai. From the above it is evident that the
petitioner committed grave official misconduct and administrative
malpractice which resulted in the misappropriation of gold by A1 and
others by the mahazer prepared by the petitioner, other Devaswom
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
officials such as Mr. Sunil Kumar.K, Assistant Engineer, Sabarimala,
Mr.B. Murari Babu, Administrative Officer, Sabarimala, and Mr.
Sankaranarayanan, Head Accountant, Sabarimala, etc. had affixed their
signature which clearly establishes the conspiracy in committing the
offence. The depth of conspiracy hatched among the accused persons as
well as the monitory benefit obtained are being further probed.
G & H) The investigation of the case is still in progress. The nature and
involvement of more employees and officials of Travancore Devaswom
Board are being probed, certain documents relating to the offence have
not yet been made available from Devaswom board despite issuing
notices and even after conducting legal searches at some offices. The
Hon'ble High Court of Kerala while passing orders in WP (C) No.
40608 of 2025 dated 05.11.2025 had permitted the SIT to carry out
scientific examination by taking samples from various sacred
adornments at Sabarimala, following this the SIT had taken samples and
had sent the samples for scientific examination through the Hon'ble
Court. The scientific examination of these samples are still in progress
and it is only after a proper analysis of the results of this examination,
that a proper estimation of the total quantity of gold misappropriated
can be arrived at. More investigation will have to be carried out based
on the result of the scientific examination.
I to M). XXX
The investigation of the case is still in progress. The nature and
involvement of more employees and officials of Travancore Devaswom
Board are being probed. Certain documents relating to the offence have
not yet been made available from Devaswom Board despite issuing
notices and even after conducting legal searches at some offices.
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
Moreover, detailed investigation is being done to fully recover the
misappropriated gold. Since the investigation is still progressing there
is every possibility that if the petitioner is let on bail he,being the former
Devaswom Commissioner of Travancore Devaswom Board will
influence witnesses of this case and will cause
destruction/disappearance of evidence and documents. Moreover this is
a case which relates to the misappropriation of gold from the priceless
and sacred door-frame plates and connected plates of the famous
Sabarimala Temple. The incidents that led to the case has deeply hurt
the religious sentiments of scores of Ayyappa devotees and pilgrims.
Considering the gravity of the offences committed by the accused and
others it is prayed that the bail application submitted by the petitioner
be dismissed at the very outset itself."
19. In Crime No.3700/2025, the prime allegation of the
prosecution is that Dwarapalaka idols cladded with gold in original having
42800 gram of weight were taken by the 1 st accused as part of conspiracy
hatched in between the accused persons and at the time of its return the
weight was reduced to 3825.8100 and thus the prosecution allegation is
that 4541.900 gram of gold originally form part of Dwarapalaka idols were
misappropriated by the accused. While dismissing the anticipatory bail
applications filed by the 4th and 6th accused in Crime No.3700/2025, this
Court observed in paragraphs 14, 15 and 16 as under:
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B.A.No.14361/2025 & conn.cases
"14. Coming to the decision taken by the Board,
the same would show that, the Dwarapalaka plates, which
according to the Board, were copper platted ones and not gold
platted ones. In fact, Dwarapalaka plates are actually cladded
with gold in its origin and therefore, there is no necessity for
doing any other process of cladding or plating of gold over the
same. The conspirators and the perpetrators of this crime who
were well aware of the fact that by recording the Dwarapalaka
plates as one made of copper and the same to be allowed to be
subjected to gold cladding, on that premise, the gold originally
therein could be misappropriated for getting illegal gratification
for themselves and accordingly, they had recorded the
Dwarapalaka plates as fully made of copper in the minutes of the
Devaswam Board as well as in the mahazars one of which was
signed by the 6th accused. Similarly, the 4th accused also issued
order to handover the Dwarapalaka plates to the 1 st accused
shown the description of the Dwarapalaka plates as copper
made, though she also is fully aware of the fact that those are
originally gold cladded items. Thus, the accused persons with
knowledge that once the Dwarapalaka plates to be recorded as
copper plated items in the Board decision and the corresponding
mahazars, it is easy for them to swindle away the gold cladded
over the same to sell and make money out of the same. Thus,
prima facie, the conspiracy, in the instant case, is in a widest
magnitude, including some other higher officials other than the
accused persons now arrayed and without the involvement of the
higher officials, this kind of large scale looting of gold, that too,
from a holy temple like Sabarimala, where lakhs of people
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bestowed themselves, should not have happened. Therefore, even
though the investigation is on the right direction, the investigation
should be widened to include those who have involvement in this
scam, particularly tracing the higher ups who had control,
connection and constant contact with Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty,
since Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty, the 1st accused, continued in
Sabarimala under the grace of some big guns. Therefore, the
investigating officer shall have to consider the widest conspiracy
and investigate on the involvement of the big guns in the scam
without fail to ensure fair investigation.
15. Coming back, it could be noticed that, as on
03.07.2019, the Travancore Devaswom Board decided to do gold
plating works to the Dwarapalaka plates and also the plates on
the southern and northern corners of the Sreekovil, describing
those items are fully made of copper, without any gold plating,
and it was decided to do the work of gold plating on those items at
the instance of Sri. Unnikrishnan Potty, the 1st accused, as per the
decision of the Thanthri and under the supervision of the
Devaswom Commissioner. In this context, it is relevant to refer
that even though the Devaswom Board did not decide to send the
Dwarapalaka plates outside for gold plating, the decision of the
Board, describing those items originally cladded with gold as
items fully made of copper, would show the deceitful intention and
consequential misappropriation of the gold, actually platted
therein, so as to make unlawful enrichment to the perpetrators of
the crime and corresponding loss to the Devaswom Board, and in
turn, the holy 'Sabarimala Ayyappan'. So, the decision itself
would show the involvement of the Devaswom Board members in
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describing the items as purely made of copper, though its original
was gold cladded, and also would show the involvement of the
decision makers who decided so as on 03.07.2019.
16. The prosecution records would reveal the
role of the 4th accused. The 4th accused, having worked under the
Devaswom Board as Secretary during the relevant time, issued
an order dated 05.07.2019, which led to Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty
to get custody of the items, that too against the Board decision. It
is relevant to note that, after two days of the decision of the Board
(decision of the Board was on 03.07.2017), the 4th accused passed
an order on 05.07.2019, to handover the Dwarapalaka plates and
items on the southern and northern corners of the Sreekovil to
Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty, though actually there was no decision by
the Board to do so. In this context, it is relevant to refer that, as
argued, the 4th accused had joined in Travancore Devaswom
Board as an L.D. Clerk on 24.12.1982 and by promotion,
reached the post of Secretary of Travancore Devaswom Board,
holding that position from 03.07.2017 to 06.12.2019 and also as
Thiruvabharanam Commissioner upto 31.05.2020 till her
retirement. Therefore, the knowledge of the 4 th accused regarding
this stature of the Dwarapalaka plates and the items on the
southern and northern corners of the Sreekovil, as originally gold
cladded items is damn sure and the 4th accused could not contend
that she was not aware of the same. Thus, knowing fully well that
what was stated in the Board decision on 03.07.2019, describing
the Dwarapalaka plates and the other items on the southern and
northern corners of the Sreekovil were described as mere copper
plates, is an absolute falsehood. Therefore, if the 4 th accused is
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innocent and not involved in the conspiracy, the natural response
from the 4th accused should be to write a letter to the Board
stating that Dwarapalaka plates and other items decided to be
gold platted, describing the same as copper made, was wrong and
therefore, no order could be issued. Unfortunately, instead of
doing the said exercise, as a bona fide employee of the Devaswom
Board, who was bestowed with the duty of protecting the interest
of the respectable deity of Sabarimala, she did not point out the
same, instead she had issued an order within two days, that too,
in deviation from the decision of the Board, to hand over the
Dwarapalaka plates to the 1st accused to take them out for the
purpose of gold plating, though, in fact, no such gold plating was
required as far as the items are concerned, since its origin itself is
gold plated. Thus, the role of the 4 th accused is well made out
prima facie, and on merits, the 4th accused could not wriggle out
from the prosecution. Since the role of the 4 th accused is well
made out, prima facie, in a huge scam, she is not entitled to get
anticipatory bail on merits, as her arrest, custodial interrogation
and the modus operandi are to be ascertained."
20. In the report of the Devaswom Board dated 09.10.2025
filed before this Court in SSOR.No.23/2025 (where from these crimes
were registered and investigations have been going on) the details of the
originally gold cladded item submitted by UB Group to Sannidhanam and
it was reported therein that only 394.900 grams of gold were used to clad
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the Dwarapalaka idols and the remaining gold were misappropriated by the
accused, as part of the conspiracy hatched in between them. In the report
in B.A.No.14361/2025 in Crime No.3700/2025, it is stated as under:
"3. It is submitted that, despite the fact that the Thanthri, in
his letter dated 18.06.2019 had clearly described the plates as
"സ്വർണം കുറഞ്ഞു ചെമ്പു തെളിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ളത്", the petitioner
herein, purposefully and with ulterior motives omitted these words and
merely represented the plates as " ചെമ്പ്". This is the genesis of the
sequence of correspondence and acts that ultimately led to the handing
over of the sacred gold cladded Dwarapalaka plates to Mr.
Unnikkrishnan Potty (A1). The petitioner submitted the
recommendation letter to the Executive Officer (A3), on 17.09.2019
along with the Thanthri's letter dated 18.06.2019. It is impossible to
enclose Thanthri's letter dated 18.06.2019 along with his letter dated.
17.06.2019 which clearly establishes the conspiracy behind the crime
and proves that it is a pre-planned action. As even before getting the
report from Thanthri he had intentionally stated in the letter as
'Chembu Pali' even though he was well aware of the fact that these
plates were cladded with gold in 1998.
4. The petitioner, after his first term as Administrative
Officer during 2018- 2019, he was again posted at Sabarimala as
Executive Officer on 12.07.2024. On 17.08.2024 not much later than
his taking charge he sent a letter to the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner stating that several portions of the gold plated copper
plates of the dwarapalakas were damaged and the President,
Travancore Devaswom Board had instructed to get the repair works
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done before the Sabarimala season. It is pertinent to note here that,
Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (Al) and the petitioner were instrumental in
illegally taking the Dwarapalaka and other items to Chennai in 2019,
for gold plating, which led to the misappropriation of gold from those
articles by Al and others. Since they have once again initiated this
process, it can be assumed that they had designs to conceal the
offences committed in 2019 and also to raise sponsorship in the name
of gold plating probably with the intention of illegal financial gain. It
is to be noted that in 2019 while he was Administrative Officer,
Sabarimala he initiated the process of gold plating works and wrote a
letter to the Executive Officer, recommending the gold plating. But in
2024 in this case there was no report of Administrative Officer as he
had done in 2019. In both these incidents Mr. Murari Babu (A2)
initiated this process irrespective of his official position which points
towards his malicious design. 5. Pursuant to the orders of the Hon'ble
High Court of Kerala and on the basis of the letters received from the
Commissioner, Travancore, along with the reports of the Chief
Vigilance and Security Officer, Travancore Devaswom Board, the
present Crime is registered at Crime Branch Police Station as
Cr.3700/CB/CU-IV/TVPM/D/2025 U/S. 403, 406, 409, 466, 467, and
34 IPC.
6). xxxx xxxx xxxx
7). The 2nd accused was arrested on the basis of the
findings of the investigation conducted by the SIT. As per the findings
of the investigation it was revealed that though the letter of Mr.
Unnikrishnan Potty was addressed to Mr. D. Sudheesh Kumar (A3), it
was the petitioner, who played behind the curtain. made Al sign on the
letter, then obtained the letter from Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (Al) and
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forwarded it to D. Sudheesh Kumar (A3) along with his own letter
wherein he purposefully and with ulterior motives misrepresented the
gold cladded plates as mere "ചെമ്പു പാളികൾ". He had also
enclosed a letter from the Tanthri dated 18.06.2019 addressed to the
Executive officer, (A3) in which it was mentioned that permission could
be given to gold plate the Dwarapalaka plates "since the gold on it had
been faded". It is impossible to enclose Thanthri's letter dated
18.06.2019 along with his letter dated. 17.06.2019. This clearly
indicates the level of conspiracy hatched amongst the accused persons.
This dubious manner let to the issuance of the Board proceedings that
ultimately led to the misappropriation of the cladded gold from the
dwarapalaka plates as well as the pillar plates and is indicative of the
clandestine designs of the petitioner herein.
8 (A). 1). The duties and responsibilities of Administrative
Officer of Sabarimala as mentioned in Devaswom Manual Vol-I,
Chapter -XV, 10 (b) are
2). They have to conduct daily, monthly and other
ceremonies in Devaswom under their charge properly and in time
as per the instructions received from the Executive Officer,
Sabarimala
3). To keep correct accounts and maintain all registers
and records up to date and carry out the orders of the superior
officers from time to time.
4). To keep all the valuables of the Devaswoms
entrusted to his care and maintain registers of valuables properly
and up to date. This emphasizes the fact that the Administrative
Officer of Sabarimala has to keep all the valuables of the
Devaswom entrusted to his care and maintain registers of
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valuables properly and up to date.
B. It is the duty of the Administrative Officer as per the Travancore
Devaswom Manual Vol-1, Chapter XV- 14(e)
(9) To check all sorts of wastes, misappropriation and
malpractices in the institution, (10) To see that no defilement of any
kind is caused to the temples and to refrain from doing anything
repugnant and contrary to custom and usages obtaining in the temples
it is again reiterated that it shall be the duty of the Administrative
Officer (17) To have the custody of the valuables of the Devaswoms.
(20) To attend all other item of work connected with the Devaswosm
and to supervise the actual conduct of ceremonies. As envisaged
above, being the custodian of the valuables of Sabarimala Devaswom,
it is the bounden duty of the Administrative Officer of the Temple, to
ensure the priceless gold cladded Dwarapalaka plates and side plates
would not have been subjected to any misappropriation, malpractices
and misuse. The petitioner herein, Mr. Murari Babu failed to observe
his mandated duties as described above and purposefully neglected his
bounden duties.
C. Mr. Murari Babu, (A2) the petitioner herein was inducted into
the service of Travancore Devaswom Board in the year 1995. After having
worked in various capacities with Travancore Devaswom Board, he took
charge as Administrative Officer of Sabarimala Temple on 17.08.2018.
Being a senior officer and having sufficient experience in Travancore
Devaswom Board and at Sabarimala, he was well aware of the fact that the
Dwarapalaka idol plates and the pillar plates were indeed gold cladded in
1998 by UB Group. In spite of this, he misrepresented the gold cladded
Dwarapalaka idol plates and the side plates as mere "ചെമ്പു പാളികൾ"
in his recommendation letter sent to Mr D.Sudheesh Kumar (A3), Executive
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Officer on 17.06.2019 . Despite the fact that the Thanthri, in his letter had
clearly described the plates as "സ്വർണം കുറഞ്ഞു ചെമ്പു
തെളിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ളത്", Mr Murari Babu (A2) the petitioner herein,
purposefully and with ulterior motives omitted these words and merely
represented the plates as "ചെമ്പ്". This is the genesis of the sequence of
correspondence and that act ultimately led to the handing over of the sacred
gold cladded Dwarapalaka plates to Mr. A.K. Unnikrishnan Potty (A1), and
resulted in the subsequent misappropriation of the gold from the plates by
Mr. A1. Unnikrishnan Potty, Al and others at Smart Creations, Chennai.
D. Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty, (A1) prepared a letter on 17.06.2019,
as per the direction of Mr Murari Babu, (A2) by addressing the Executive
Officer, Sabarimala Mr Sudheesh Kumar (A3) stating that he would repair
and gold plate the Dwarapalaka idol plates and the side plates on
sponsorship basis. Mr Murari Babu, (A2) the then Administrative Officer of
Sabarimala forwarded the letter of A1 to A3 along with his own letter
wherein he purposefully and with ulterior motives misrepresented the gold
cladded plates as just "Chembu Palikal". He had also enclosed a letter
dated 18.6.2019 from the Tanthri addressed to the Executive Officer in
which it was mentioned that permission could be given to gold plate the
Dwarapalaka plates "since the gold on it had been faded". It is impossible
to enclose the Thanthri's letter dated 18.06.2019 along with his letter dated
17.06.2019. It is the bounden duty of the Officer to peruse the report of the
Thantri and mention in his report the presence of gold already cladded on
the plates. It is nothing but an intentional act which ultimately lead to the
handing over of these items to Mr Unnikrishnan potty (A1). Later the Board
discussed the matter as item No. 77 in the minutes book and accorded
permission vide Board order ROC 9097/18/M Dated 05.07.2019 to get the
repair and gold plating works of the Dwarapalaka plates and side plates,
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done by Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (A1). Mr. Murari Babu, (A2) the petitioner
herein is the 1st person to use the term "copper plates" rather than "gold
cladded copper plates" with respect to the aforesaid valuables owned by the
Travancore Devaswom Board and which ultimately resulted in the
misappropriation of gold by Mr Unnikrishnan potty (A1) and others.
E). Mr Murari Babu (A2), the petitioner took charge as
Administrative Officer of Sabarimala Temple on 17.08.2018 and continued
upto 17.7.2019. The maintenance and repairs of the main door of Sreekovil,
door frame and Dwarapalaka Structures and two pillars situated on the
north and south corner of the Sreekovil were carried out during his tenure.
The procedure for the door was started in 2018 and it was only for the
fixing of the new gold platted door. The procedure for gold plating of
Dwarapalaka idol plates with respect to this crime had been initiated and
completed during his period as Administrative Officer in Sabrimala
Devaswom itself.
F) Mr.Murari Babu (A2), the petitioner herein, misrepresented
the gold cladded Dwarapalaka idol plates and the side pillar plates as mere
"ചെമ്പു പാളികൾ", in his recommendation letter sent to the Executive
Officer dated 17.06.2019. with the attachment of the letter of Thantri.
Despite the fact that the Thanthri, in his letter dated 18.6.2019 had clearly
described the plates as "സ്വർണം കുറഞ്ഞു ചെമ്പു
തെളിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ളത്", the petitioner herein, purposefully and with ulterior
motives concealed these words and merely represented the plates as
"ചെമ്പ്". As per the Devaswam Board Manual Vol- I, Chapter XV, 14 (e)
(9) and (e)(17) it shall be the duty of the Administrative Officer to check all
sorts of wastes, misappropriation and malpractices in the institution and to
have the custody of all the valuables of the Devaswoms. As a responsible
and experienced officer knowing that these artefacts were gold cladded in
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1998 by UB Group. It was his duty to mention the contents of the Thanthri's
letter in his recommendation letter also. Here Mr Murari Babu (A2),
intentionally used the term "copper plates" rather than "gold cladded
copper plates" with respect to the valuable artefacts owned by the
Travancore Devaswom Board, neglecting the letter of Thanthri, and which
ultimately resulted in the misappropriation of gold by the 1st accused and
the others. As per Devaswom Mannuel Vol II Chapter IX SI.No. 23, Para 4
& Para 7 making or repairing of Thiruvabharanams should as far as
possible be done under the immediate supervision of the Deputy Devaswam
Commissioner, detailed mahazers showing the weight and touch etc of
articles, as per accounts and as actually found at the time, should be
prepared etc.
G). Mr Murari Babu (A2), the petitioner joined in the service of
Travancore Devaswom board in 1995. As per Sec.2(c) of the Prevention of
Corruption Act 1998, Mr Murari Babu (A2) comes under the purview of
Public Servant. The duties and powers of Administrative Officers of the
Travancore Devaswom are well explained in Travancore Devaswom
Manual Vol-I, Chapter -XV,14, (2) (e) and Vol-I, Chapter -XV (3) (10) (b).
As per Devaswom Manual Vol-I, Chapter -XV (3) (10) (b) (4) The
Administrative Officer of Sabarimala has to keep all the valuables of the
Devaswoms entrusted to his care and maintain registers of valuables
properly and up to date and as per Devaswom Manual Vol-I, Chapter -
XV,14, (2) (e) (17) the petitioner(A2) as the Administrative officer as to
have custody of the valuables of the Devaswoams. And is responsible for
protecting and safeguarding all the valuables of the Devaswoms. So he has
the entrustment of the property as per the above provisions. He had also
committed the above offences with the connivance of the other accused.
Mr Murari Babu (A2), the petitioner had the knowledge that the
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Dwarapalaka idols and pillar plates were gold cladded by UB Group in
1998. Suppressing this fact, even if it is mentioned in Thantri's letter he
purposefully prepared falsified record of his letter dated 17.6.2019 related
to Dwarapalaka idol gold plating with the connivance of the other accused,
which ultimately resulted in the handing over of these artefacts to Mr
Unnikrishnan potty, (Al) and thereby led to the misappropriation of the
gold cladded on it and there by caused illegal pecuniary loss to the
Devaswom Board and illegal pecuniary gain to the accused. The
investigation is going on in depth to gather more evidences. Mr. Murari
Babu (A2), the petitioner was also liable under section 467 of Indian Penal
Code. In order to transfer the valuable artefacts to A1, the petitioner made
Al signing on the letter dated 17.06.12019 and forwarded it to A3 on the
same day along with the letter dated 18.06.2019 from the Tanthri addressed
to the Executive officer in which it was mentioned that permission could be
given to gold plate the dwarapalaka plates "since the gold on it had been
faded". But, in his own recommendation letter wherein he purposefully and
with ulterior motives misrepresented the gold cladded plates as mere
"ചെമ്പു പാളികൾ". It's impossible to enclose Thanthri's letter dated
18/06/2019 along with his letter dated. 17.06.2019. This dubious manner in
which the proceedings that ultimately led to the misappropriation of the
cladded gold from the dwarapalaka plate was initiated is indicative of the
clandestine designs of the petitioner.
9). Though, Mr Murari Babu (A2), the petitioner was
transferred just before the preparation of Mahazar on 19.7.2019. and
20.7.2019 all the procedures for handing over the Dwarapalaka idol plates
to Mr Unnikrishnan Potty( A1) were completed before his relieving. The
documents seized during the searches conducted at the house of A2 are
being verified. The Bank Account details and the details of movable and
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immovable properties of the petitioner have been collected and
investigation is going on in that aspect. The process is not at all completed.
This effort is being continued. The result of the mobile phone analysis is yet
to be received and investigation in to that effect is to be done in-depth.
10) Mr Murari Babu (A2), the petitioner had forwarded his letter
to Mr Sudheesh Kumar. D (A3), Executive Officer, in spite of the fact that
the Thanthri, in his letter had clearly described the plates as "സ്വർണം
കുറഞ്ഞു ചെമ്പു തെളിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ളത്", the petitioner herein, purposely
and with ulterior motives omitted these words and merely represented the
plates as "ചെമ്പ്". This is the genesis of the sequence of correspondence
and acts that ultimately led to the handing over of the sacred gold cladded
Dwarapalaka plates to Mr Unnikrishnan Potty (A1), and the subsequent
misappropriation of the gold from the plates by Al and others at Smart
Creations, Chennai. He was the Administartive Officer at the time of fixing
of new gold plated door, detaching and handing over of door frames to Al
and at the time of refixing and during the various stages of handing over of
Dwarapalaka idols to Mr Unnikrishnan potty (A1) in 2019 in the capacity
of Administrative Officer and also initiated the documentation works of
gold plating Dwarapalaka idol plates again in 2024 with the intention of
concealing the previous misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka
idol plates.
11) xxxx xxxx xxxx
12) Suspected financial transactions in respect of the petitioner,
his associates, relatives are being verified by collecting the Bank
transactions, landed property details, CDRs, phone details etc. Other mode
of communications and transactions resorted by the accused need to be
probed thoroughly.
13 to 16) The investigation of the case is still in progress. The
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possibility of the involvement of other officials of Travancore Devaswom
Board is being investigated. Some documents relating to the offence have
not yet been made available by the Devaswom Board despite issuing
repeated notices and even after conducting legal searches at the respective
offices. Moreover, detailed investigation is being done to fully recover the
misappropriated gold. Since the investigation is at the nascent stage and is
still progressing, there is every possibility that if the petitioner is let on
bail he, being the former Administrative Officer of Travancore Devaswom
Board and presently being a Senior Officer in the hierarchy, he will
influence the witnesses of this case and will cause
destruction/disappearance of evidence and documents. Moreover, this is a
case which relates to the misappropriation of gold from the priceless and
sacred Dwarapalaka idol plates and side plates of the famous Sabarimala
Temple. The incidents that led to the case has deeply hurt the religious
sentiments of scores of Ayyappa devotees and pilgrims. If bail is granted
to the accused he may abscond and do not cooperate with the trial of the
case. Considering the gravity of the offences committed by the accused
and others, it is prayed that the bail application submitted by the
petitioner may kindly be dismissed."
21. In the report in B.A.No.14369/2025 in Crime
No.3701/2025, the Investigating Officer in his report stated as under:
"3)The brief of the case as per the FIR is that in furtherance of the
common intention of the accused to obtain wrongful gain and to cause wrongful loss
to the Travancore Devaswom Board, the 1st accused, with the connivance of accused
Nos. 2 to 10, who are bound to protect Devaswom properties, entered into criminal
conspiracy to misappropriate the gold that was used for cladding on the door frames
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of the Sreekovil of the Sabarimala Temple, on 16.02.2019 a recommendation was
made by the 5th accused to the 3rd accused and A3 in his letter ROC.6068/18/SAB
dated 06.03.2019 addressed to the Travancore Devaswom Secretary purposely
omitted the words and instead mentioned "കട്ടിളകളിൽ
്ണ
പൊതിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്ന ചെമ്പു തകിടുകൾ ഇളക്കി ഉണ്ണികൃഷൻ
പോറ്റിക്കു കൈമാറുന്നതിനും ആയവയിൽ സ്വർണം പൂശി
ലഭിക്കുന്ന മുറക്ക് കട്ടിളയിൽ സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നതിന്" following which the
Board issued orders and subsequently taken out the gold cladded copper door frames,
having the total weight of 42.100 KGs, were handed over to Unnikrishnan Potty,
flouting all norms, which ultimately led to the misappropriation of gold from the
sacred plates by A1 and others etc.
4). Mr. Murari Babu, the petitioner herein was inducted into the
service of Travancore Devaswom Board in the year 1995. After having
worked in various capacities with Travancore Devaswom Board, he took
charge as Administrative Officer of Sabarimala Temple on 17.08.2018.
Being a senior officer and having sufficient experience in Travancore
Devaswom Board and at Sabarimala, he was well aware of the fact that
the door-frames were indeed gold cladded. As per the Devaswom Board
Manual Vol-I, Chapter -XV, 10 (b) (4) the Administrative Officer of
Sabarimala has to keep all the valuables of the Devaswom entrusted to his
care and maintain registers of valuables properly and up to date. Based
on the Board proceedings vide. ROC 9097/18/M dated: 20.03.2019, the 7
pieces of gold cladded door frames were dismantled on 18.05.2019 by
preparing a mahazar by Mr. K.S. Baijoo (A4), the then Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner. As an Administrative Officer, who is an experienced
officer of T D B and having sufficient work experience at Sabarimala A6
had clear knowledge that the door frames were originally gold cladded
and hence he committed grave official misconduct by signing on the
mahazer in which the gold cladded door frames were wrongfully referred
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to as copper plates, willfully and with dishonest intention. Moreover, a
close scrutiny of the mahazer, when read in conjunction in the statements
of the witnesses indicates that the mahazer was prepared inaccurately and
in a highly irresponsible manner. Some of the witnesses present at the
time of preparing the mahazer, had indicated the presence of gold in the
plates. But this fact was deliberately avoided and the sacred plates were
misrepresented as mere copper plates on the mahazer. The fact that Mr.
Marari Babu, (A6) had signed on the falsified mahazer is a clear
indication of his malafide intention to hand over the sacred gold cladded
door frames to A1 which ultimately led to the misrepresention of the gold
from the plates at the Smart creations, Chennai. The claim of the
petitioner that he had sent a letter dated 19.03.2019 to the Travancore
Devaswom Board is utterly false.
5). Pursuant to the orders of the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala and on
the basis of the letters received from the Commissioner, Travancore,
along with the reports of the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer,
Travancore Devaswom Board, two crime cases were registered at Crime
Branch Police Station on 11.10.2025 as
1. Cr. 3700/CB/CU-IV/TVPM/D/2025 U/S. 403, 406, 409, 466,
467, and 34 IPC
2. Cr. 3701/CB/CU-IV/TVPM/D/2025 U/S. 403, 406, 409, 466,
467 and 34 IPC.
Cr. 3701/2025 relates to the offences committed with respect to the
removal of the cladded gold from the door frames and connected plates of
the Sreekovil.
Pursuant to the registration of the case, I, Sasidharan. S, IPS, Assistant
Director KEPA took over the investigation of the case on 12.10.2025. As
part of the investigation, the scene mahazar was prepared, several
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records were seized from various Devaswom offices, Smart Creations
Chennai and also during the searches conducted at the houses of the
arrested accused persons. The documents seized were perused and closely
examined and investigated into in conjunction with the statements of
witnesses recorded. Several Devaswom officials and other people
acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the cases were questioned
thoroughly and their versions are being cross checked and subjected to
scrutiny. During the course of investigation, A1, A3, A4, A5, A6 and A8
were arrested and the investigation is progressing. Sec. 120.B IPC and
Sec.13(1)(a) r/w 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 (Amendment
Act 2018) were added, subsequent to the revelation of these offences
during the investigation.
6). During the course of investigation, it has come to notice that the
Vigilance wing of Travancore Devaswom Board had submitted a report to
the President, Travancore Devaswom Board, against the petitioner for
official misconduct while he had been working as Administrative Officer
at Ettumanoor Devaswom in 2021.
7). As per the Devaswom Board Manual Vol-I, Chapter -XV, 10 (b)
(Annexure-) the Administrative Officer of Sabarimala has to keep all the
valuables of the Devaswom entrusted to his care and maintain registers of
valuables properly and up to date. The petitioner, who was the then
Administrative officer of Sabarimala, having the knowledge that the
copper plates of the door-frames were cladded with gold, did not take any
steps to correct the description 'copper plates' in the mahazer dated
18.05.2019, which ultimately led to the misappropriation of gold from the
sacred plates by Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (A1) and others.
8.A). As per the Devaswom Board Manual Vol-I, Chapter -XV, 10 (b) (4)
(Annexure-) the Administrative Officer of Sabarimala has to keep all the
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valuables of the Devaswom entrusted to his care and maintain registers of
valuables properly and up to date. Moreover, in Devaswom Board
Manual Vol- I, Chapter 15, Section 14 (e) (9) (Annexure-) it shall be the
duty of the Administrative Officer to check all sorts of wastes,
misappropriation and malpractices in the institution and in Chapter 15
Sec 14 (e) (17) (Annexure- ) it is again reiterated that it shall be the duty
of the Administrative Officer to have the custody of the valuables of the
Devaswom. Being the custodian of the valuables of Sabarimala
Devaswom, as the Administrative Officer of the Temple, it was the
bounden duty of the petitioner to ensure the priceless gold cladded door
frames which would not have been subjected to any misappropriation and
misuse.
B). As per the Devaswom Board Manual Vol-1, Chapter -XV, 10 (b) (4)
the Administrative Officer of Sabarimala has to keep all the valuables of
the Devaswom entrusted to his care and maintain registers of valuables
properly and up to date. Moreover in Devaswom Board Manual Vol- I,
Chapter 15, Section 14 (e) (9) it shall be the duty of the Administrative
Officer to check all sorts of wastes, misappropriation and malpractices in
the institution and in Chapter 15 Sec 14 (e)(17) it is again reiterated that
it shall be the duty of the Administrative Officer to have the custody of the
valuables of the Devaswom. Being the custodian of the valuables of
Sabarimala Devaswom, as the Administrative Officer of the Temple, it
was the bounden duty of the petitioner to ensure the priceless gold
cladded door frames of the Sreekovil which would not have been
subjected to any misappropriation and misuse. On noticing the fact that
the gold cladded plates were misrepresented and falsely described as
mere "copper plates", on the mahazer prepared on 18.05.2019, the
petitioner being the custodian of the properties, should have corrected the
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mistake then and there itself. Instead of doing that, he colluded and
connived with A1, A4, A5 and others with ulterior motives to hand over
the gold cladded door frames to A1, which paved the way to the
misappropriation of gold from these plates by A1 and others. Moreover,
by handing over the sacred gold cladded door frames to Unnikrishnan
Potty and by allowing him to take the frames to Smart creations Chennai,
the accused had blatantly violated the provisions of the Devaswom
Manual which mandates that all temple related works are to be carried
out within the premises of the temple itself. (Devaswom Manual, Vol-II,
Chapter IX, Page 116) (Annexure). The petitioner also failed to prepare
the mahazer and take the weights of the door frames when the door
frames were brought back from Chennai and reinstalled at Sabarimala.
Had the weight of the door frames being taken on re-installation, any loss
of gold would have been detected then and there itself and remedial
actions could have been taken. Investigation also revealed that the
petitioner had not made any entry in the registers of valuables regarding
the gold plating works of the door frames which is a clear violation of the
provisions of the Devaswom Manual. Hence, the contention of the
petitioner that the petitioner did not have any dominion or entrustment
over the property involved in the crime is contrary to the facts, false and
hence not maintainable.
C to E). On 16.02.2019, Mr. D. Sudheesh Kumar, the then Executive
Officer, Sabarimala vide EOP No. 223/19/SAB sent a letter to the
Devaswom Commissioner seeking orders for permission to dismantle the
door-frame copper plates (മുൻപ് സ്വർണം പൂശിയിട്ടുള്ളത്) and hand
over the plates to Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (A1), Bangalore for gold
plating and to reinstall the plates on the door frames after gold plating.
But the Devaswom Commissioner, Mr. N. Vasu (A3) in his letter ROC
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6068/18/SAB dated: 06.03.2019 addressed to the Secretary, Travancore
Devaswom Board, committed a grave mistake by inaccurately referring
the gold cladded copper plates as mere "copper plates", omitting
reference to the existing gold cladding, subsequent to which the Board in
its meeting held on 19.03.2019 also referred to it as "copper plates" and
gave permission to hand over the "Copper Plates" (ചെമ്പു പാളികൾ) to
Mr. Unnikrishnan (A1) for gold plating after duly preparing the mahazar
and thereafter to reinstall the plates after gold plating done. Based on
this, the Devaswom Secretary issued the Board proceedings as ROC
9097/18/M dated: 20.03.2019. The 7 pieces of gold cladded door frames
were dismantled on 18.05.2019, on the basis of the Board order, by
preparing a mahazar. The mahazar was prepared by Mr. K. S. Baijoo,
(A4) the then Thiruvabharam Commissioner. As per the mahazar, the
total weight of the 7 pieces together, while weighing at Sabarimala
(before cleaning) was 42.100 Kg and the 7 pieces were handed over to
A1. The mahazar was attested by Mr. K.S. Baijoo, Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner, Sabarimala, Mr.. D. Sudheesh Kumar, Executive Officer,
Sabarimala, Mr. Murari Babu, Administrative Officer, Sabarimala, Mr.
V.M Kumar, Smith. and Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty. A close scrutiny of the
mahazar, when read in conjunction with the statement of witnesses
indicates that the mahazar was prepared inaccurately and in a highly
irresponsible manner. The mahazar is silent about the presence of gold
cladding even though the Smith was present during the preparation of the
mahazar. Moreover the petitioner, Mr. Murari Babu and Mr. Sudheesh
Kumar and others, who are experienced officers of Travancore
Devaswom Board and having sufficient experience of having worked at
Sabarimala had clear knowledge and understanding that the door frames
were originally gold cladded, committed grave official misconduct by
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willfully and with dishonest intention, wrongfully referred to as copper
plates even on the mahazar. Further investigation revealed that, some of
the witnesses presented at the time of preparing the mahazar, had
indicated the presence of gold on the plates to the others present there,
which reiterates the fact that the accused present there were having clear
knowledge that the door frame plates of Sreekovil were in fact gold
cladded.
Having taken possession of the door frames, Mr. Unnikrishnan
Potty (A1) took the plates to SMART Creations, Chennai. No officer of
Travancore Devaswom Board accompanied A1 to SMART Creations and
the gold plating process was not supervised by the Thiruvabharanam
Commissioner as ordered by the Travancore Devaswom Board. There, the
cladded gold was stripped from the copper plates and 184 gms of gold
supplied by the sponsor Govardhan Roddam, Bellari was plated on the 7
door frame plates as sponsorship, as told by Govardhan Roddam. The
gold stripped from the door frame plates was left unaccounted in stripping
solution at the SMART Creations.
After gold plating, the 7 pieces were returned to Sabarimala on
15.06.2019 by Unnikrishnan Potty and that too without the escort of
Travancore Devaswom Board officials and no mahazar was prepared
regarding this either at Smart Creations or at Sabarimala and the weight
of the plates also was not recorded during re-installation. All these acts
clearly depict the connivance, conspiracy, involvement of the accused
persons in the commission of the offences.
Investigation revealed a series of serious official misconduct
and administrative lapses on the part of Devaswom officials right from the
initial correspondence till the handing over of the door frame plates to Mr.
Unnikrishnan Potty without proper authorization. No estimate was taken
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by the Devaswom Smith and no agreement was executed between the
Board and the Sponsor. By handing over the sacred door frame plates to
Unnikrishnan Potty and by allowing him to take the frames to Smart
Creations Chennai, Devaswom officials had blatantly violated the
provisions of the Devaswom Manual which mandates that all temple
related works are to be carried out with in the Temple premises itself
(Devaswom Manual, Vol-II, Chapter-.IX-23, Para-4, Page 116, and in
Thiruvithamcore Devaswom Sub Group Manual Chapter X. Para-26,
Page 150). Despite having clear knowledge that the plates were gold
cladded in 1998, none of the Devaswom officials enquired about the gold
that was stripped from these plates at Smart Creations. By not effectively
supervising the works at SMART Creations and by not taking the weights
of the gold plated door frame plates on re-installation and by not making
prompt entries in the relevant registers, the Devaswom officials had
committed grave official malpractice which led to the commission of
misappropriation. All these acts and omissions from the part of Devaswom
officials tantamounts to official misconduct, thereby abetting and aiding
Unnikrishnan Potty and others to misappropriate the gold at SMART
Creations, causing unlawful pecuniary loss to Travancore Devaswom
Board and corresponding unlawful gain to Unnikrishnan Potty and others.
Being a public servant and the custodian of the valuables of Sabarimala
Devaswom, the petitioner committed grave official misconduct by
miserably failing in his bounden duty to prevent the misappropriation and
misuse of Devaswom valuables.
F). (i). As per the Devaswom manual as mentioned above, the
petitioner, as the Administrative Officer of Sabarimala Devaswom, was
duty bound to keep all the valuables of the Devaswom entrusted to his care
and maintain registers of valuables properly and up to date. It is also
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enumerated in the manual, that it shall be the duty of the Administrative
Officer to check all sorts of wastes, misappropriation and malpractices in
the institution. By signing on the falsified mahazer as detailed above, by
not taking the weight of the door frames during its re-installation, by not
making prompt entries in the relevant registers, the petitioner committed
grave official misconduct and aided Mr. Unnikrishnan Potty (A1) and
others to misappropriate gold from the sacred door frames at Smart
Creations, Chennai thereby causing unlawful pecuniary loss to
Travancore Devaswom Board and corresponding pecuniary gain to A1
and others. Hence the contention of the petitioner that he never
dishonestly misappropriated any movable property is contrary to the facts
and hence not maintainable
(ii). As detailed in the foregoing paragraphs, it is evident that the
Administrative Officer of Sabarimala is the custodian of the valuables of
Devaswom and it was his duty to ensure that the valuables are not
subjected to any waste, misappropriation and misuse. Hence the
contentions of the petitioner that he is not in any way entrusted with the
door frames of Sabarimala Sreekovil is baseless. The fraudulent intention
of the petitioner is evident from the fact that he had intentionally signed on
the falsified mahazer, thereby permitting the priceless gold cladded door
frames to be handed over to Mr. Unnikrishnan potty (A1). Moreover, by
not weighing the door frames on its re-installation at Sabarimala and by
not making prompt entries in the relevant registers, the petitioner
intentionally concealed the misappropriation of the gold from the door
frames.
(iii). As stated above, the petitioner signed as an attester on the mahazer
prepared on 18.05.2019 in which the gold cladded door frames were
deliberately misrepresented as mere copper plates. Moreover, some of the
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persons who are cited as witnesses of the mahazer have not signed on it
and some were not made aware of the contents of the mahazer, which
clearly shows that the mahazer was indeed falsified.
iv). As above
v). In this case, the process of gold plating of the door frames was initiated
by Mr. D. Sudheesh Kumar (A5), the then Executive Officer of
Sabarimala. The petitioner had not submitted any letter from the Thanthri
as claimed. Moreover, the contention of the petitioner that he had signed
on the mahazer as per the direction of his Superior officers and also from
the direction of the Travancore Devaswom Board is baseless.
vi). From the explanations given above it is evident that as the
Administrative Officer of Sabarimala the petitioner is entrusted with the
custody of the valuables of the Devaswom and it was his duty as a public
servant to ensure the priceless gold cladded door frames would not have
been subjected to any misappropriation and misuse. It is crystal clear that
the petitioner's claim that he hadn't any control or entrustment over the
property is baseless and devoid of merits.
9 to 18). The investigation of the case is still in progress. The items seized
from the house of the petitioner after preparing seizure mahazer are being
thoroughly probed. The nature and involvement of more employees and
officials of Travancore Devaswom Board are being probed. Certain
documents relating to the offence have not yet been made available from
Devaswom Board despite issuing notices and even after conducting legal
searches at some offices. Moreover, detailed investigation is being done to
fully recover the misappropriated gold. Since the investigation is still
progressing there is every possibility that if the petitioner is let on bail he,
being the former Administrative Officer of Travancore Devaswom Board
will influence probable witnesses of this case and will cause
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destruction/disappearance of evidence and documents. Moreover this is a
case which relates to the misappropriation of gold from the priceless and
sacred dwarapalaka idol plates and side plates of the famous Sabarimala
Temple. The incidents that led to the case has deeply hurt the religious
sentiments of scores of Ayyappa devotees and pilgrims. Considering the
gravity of the offences committed by the accused and others it is prayed that
the bail application submitted by the petitioner be dismissed at the very
outset itself."
22. When considering the role of Murari Babu alone in both
these cases, it is well evident that at the time of taking decision to clad
gold on Dwarapalaka idols, north and south of the Sreekovil involved in
Crime No.3700/2025; and the door and other items also as alleged in
Crime No.3701/2025, Murari Babu held the post of Administrative Officer
till the 4th accused Sri S.Sreekumar had taken charge as the Administrative
Officer on 17.07.2019 and he, in fact, is responsible for the custody of all the
valuables of Sabarimala temple in general in terms of the Travancore
Devaswom Manual, as already extracted in the report of the Investigating
Officer. It is relevant to note that the Devaswom Board decision placed befoe
this Court would show that the Devaswom Board had not decided to authorise
the 1st accused Unnikrishnan Potti to take out the Dwarapalaka idols and
by a letter issued by the 4 th accused Jayasree, the 1st accused was authorised to
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take those items outside the Sannidhanam. Thus Jayasree is a prime accused
in this case. However, in Crime No.3701/2025 it could be seen that there
was decision by the Board members to remove old door and to replace
new door, though according to the prosecution, the same includes the
door frames, the Shiva idol on its top, the arch including Vyaali
Roopam, Raashi plates and Dasharadha plates. Any how, pursuant to the
Board decision, orders were issued to entrust the above items to the 1 st
accused for getting the same cladded with gold by describing that the same
were originally made of copper by falsifying the records. It is pertinent to
note that as argued by the learned ADGP, as per letter dated 17.06.2019 on
getting a letter from the 1st accused dated 17.06.2019 addressed to the
Executive Officer, he immediately recommended the removal of the items
describing the same as copper ignoring the description of the items as gold
cladded in the letter dated 16.02.2019. In addition to that, in the letter
dated 17.06.2019, issued by Murari Babu, he had stated that he had
obtained permission from the `Thantri' in this regard in writing. But as on
17.06.2019, Thantri had not given any letter to Murari Babu, though a
letter in writing issued by the Thantri was obtained on the next day on
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18.06.2019. As rightly pointed out by the learned ADGP this aspect alone
would shw the mense rea of Murari Babu in the matter of misappropriation
and therefore the contention in contra raised by the learned counsel for
Murari Babu is found unacceptable. Thus the role of Murari Babu in both
the crimes is well established, prima facie.
23. The next aspect is the role of Sri N.Vasu, who is the 3 rd
accused in Crime No.3701/2025. It is true that N.Vasu worked as
Commissioner, Travancore Devaswom Board from 10.11.2010 to
15.03.2013 and also from 01.02.2018 to 14.03.2019. That apart, he
worked as the President of the Travancore Devaswom Board in between
15.11.2019 and 14.11.2021. Even though it is argued by the learned
counsel for N.Vasu that the prosecution has no records to show that the
door frames were originally gold cladded, the learned ADGP placed the
statements of many witnesses, who dealt with the door frames, door and
other items of the Sreekovil. In this regard, the statements of witnesses
Balakrishnan, S/o.Chinnayya; Nagarajan, S/o.Sankaran; Maniyasan,
S/o.Gopalakrishann; Ramanujan, S/o.Sivaraman; Premji M.J,
S/o.Janardhanan Pilla; K.Kumaran Nair, S/o.Ravikumar; Bharagvan,
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S/o.V.Kesavadas; C.R.Rajasekharan, S/o.Chellappan Pilla, showing that
the door frames were originally cladded with gold are available. Apart
from that, as pointed out by the learned ADGP in Annexure I letter in the
bail application of N.Vasu, it has been specifically stated that the door
frames were originally cladded with gold and the prosecution allegation is
that the above fact was suppressed by N.Vasu while issuing Annexure III
letter in his bail application. Here as regards to the Dwarapalaka idols and
other items involved in Crime No.3700/2025, there was decision by the
Devaswom Board describing the items therein as copper instead of gold and
thus all the Devaswom Board members involved in this decision, viz.,
Padmakumar, K.P.Sankardas and N.Vijayakumar are criminally liable for
describing the original gold cladded items as copper plated, since the same is
the starting point of misappropriation. Although the Investigating Officer
arrested Padmakumar, others remain not arrested and no effective
investigation against them to be noticed from the records available. This
shows serious laxity in the investigation of this crime and casts shadow of
doubt in the investigation. The Investigating Officer shall address the same.
When looking into the decision taken by the Devaswom Board, as seen
from the minutes of the meeting, which relates to Crime No.3701/2025 and the
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decision was to change the old door of Sreekovil and substitute new door
after cladding gold therein in Chennai on 01.03.2019 and 02.03.2019 and it
was also decided to entrust the said work to be undertaken by Thiruvabharana
commissioner. It was thereafter as alleged by the prosecution the door frames,
the Shiva idol on its top, the arch including Vyaali roopam, Raashi plates and
Dasharadha plates were taken by the 1 st accused to Chennai and alleged to have
misappropriated the original gold cladded therein by substituting lesser quantity
of gold.
24. Thus it appears that the contention raised by the learned
counsel for N.Vasu that, N.Vasu is absolutely innocent and there are no
materials to show that the door frames were originally cladded with gold, cannot
be found in favour of N.Vasu at this stage, where the available materials would
suggest that the door frames, the Shiva idol on its top, the arch including Vyaali
roopam, Raashi plates and Dasharadha plates originally cladded with gold were
alleged to be taken away to misappropriate the gold plates. Therefore, the
innocence canvassed by the learned counsel for N.Vasu could not be found,
at this stage.
25. Coming to the role of Sri K.S.Baiju, who is the
Thiruvabharana Commissioner also, the decision of the Board discussed
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herein above is relevant. The decision was to carry out the work of gold
cladding on 01.03.2019 and 02.03.2019 to the door and other items under
the leadership of the Thiruvabharana Commissioner and admittedly during
the relevant time K.S.Baiju was the Thiruvabharana Commissioner.
Therefore, the attempt made by the learned counsel for K.S.Baiju that
K.S.Baiju is innocent, cannot be countenanced. That is to say, the
Devaswom Manual would cleraly show that the post of Thiruvabharana
Commissioner is created and meant for the proper preservation,
maintenance and custody of all Thiruvabharanam and all belongings of the
deity and, in fact, no other duty is assigned to the Thiruvabharana
Commissioner. In such a case, the plea of Thiruvabharana Commissioner,
that he is innocent and he had no role in the misappropriation of gold
cladded in the Thiruvabharanam, cannot be accepted with a grain of salt.
Even though it is argued by the learned Senior Counsel appearing for
K.S.Baiju relying on a decision of the Apex Court reported in [2011 KHC
5051 : 2012 (1) KLT SN 40 : AIR 2012 SC 830], Sanjay Chandra v.
CBI, that the right to bail is not to be denied merely because of the
sentiments of the community against the accused, this contention would
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not yield as sentiments of the community alone is not the matter involving
in these cses, but the allegations are misappropriation of gold belonged to
a holy deity by its custodians, which is usually unheard of and having
unique stature embedded with.
26. Thus the role of Sri Murari Babu and K.S.Baiju in both
the crimes as well as the role of N.Vasu in Crime No.3701/2025 are made
out, prima facie.
27. When the facts in all these cases are evaluated, it could
be seen that the allegations in these crimes are unheard of. The
Travancore Devaswom Board and its officials are duty bound to protect
the interest of the temple and also the interest of lakhs of devotees.
Although the accused persons are given assignment to do the said job,
instead of protecting the interest of the holy Deity, temple and lakh of
devotees, they involved in misappropriating gold, cladded in the
`Thiruvabharanam' and this is nothing but a typical example; where
'protectors' become the `destroyers' or a `guardian' turned `executioner'
or the `hand that heals', now `harms'. No doubt, the seriousness of a case
is one of the key factors that the courts should consider while deciding
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whether to grant bail to an accused involved in serious crimes, apart from
the purpose of their custody and the progress of the investigation. When
cases are of serious nature, namely, large scale manipulation and
misappropriation of the Thiruvabharanam of a holy Deity by falsifying
records, such cases are unprecedented and are to be encapsulated in a
totally different species of which no genus. In such cases, grant of bail
should be dealt in segregation from the general postulate. Therefore, in
such cases, the progress of the investigation and the necessity of further
custodial interrogation by themselves would not be decisive factors when a
court considers regular bail plea of the accused persons involved in the
crime. Although bail is the rule and jail is an exception; serious cases of
this nature would fall under the category of exception and in such cases,
the rule may vanish to replace exception.
28. Before adieu, it is worthwhile to mention that, some
stagnation in the investigation, after dismissal of the anticipatory bail
applications filed by the 4th and 6th accused in Crime No.3700/2025, to be
noted, though the anticipatory bail applications dismissed on 04.12.2025
moved by the 4th and 6th accused have been zealously opposed by the
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th
prosecution. Anyhow the 6 accused was not arrested till 16.12.2025
though it is learnt that he was arrested on 17.12.2025, twelve days after
dismissal of his bail application, even though his role has been dealt in
detail in the order dismissing pre arrest bail plea. It is true that the 4 th
accused was not arrested and her bail application moved on 18.12.2025 is
under the consideration of the Hon'ble Apex Court. It is relevant to note
that ROC 9097/18/M Board notice dated 05.07.2019 signed on 03.07.2019
as per the decision of the Devaswom Board stating that the Dwarapalaka
idols and the north and south corner of Sreekovil cladded with copper were
to be entrusted to the 1st accused to take the same outside for the purpose
of gold cladding was signed by the Devaswom Board members, who
participated in the meeting and S.Jayasree. But whether all the Devaswom
Board members arrayed as accused in this case is in serious doubt. That
apart, whether K.Sunil Kumar, R.G Radhakrishnan, V.S.Rajendra Prasad
and K.Raghavan Nair named in the FIR in Crime No.3700/2025 were
arrested also could not be gathered from the prosecution materials. The
order permitting the 1st accused to take the door frames, door and other
items for gold cladding, describing the same as copper plated in its origin
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was signed by A.Padmakumar, the President, Travancore Devaswom
Board, Advocate Vijayakumar, Member, Travancore Devaswom Board
and K.P.Sankardas, Member, Travancore Devaswom Board, apart from
S.Jayasree. It is surprising to note that, when asked as to whether
Vijayakumar and K.P. Sankardas, who were either arrayed as accused in
Crime No.3701/2025 and were arrested for the purpose of effective
investigation, the learned ADGP on instructions from the Investigating
Officer, who was also present in open Court, submitted that it was not
done so far. This would show serious stagnation in the investigation after
05.12.2025 and the Investigating Officer shall address the same and to
effectuate investigation against all erring officers without any
discrimination and without segregating the culprit for any reasons.
Similarly, while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea of the 4 th and 6th
accused in Crime No.3700/2025, this Court observed in paragraph No.13
that, "A perusal of prosecution records, with a view to find out the complicity of
accused Nos.4 and 6, it could be seen that there has been deliberate intention and
largely moulded conspiracy hatched by the accused persons and certain other
persons holding higher positions having connection with the administration of
Sabarimala, prima facie. Otherwise, it is not at all possible to take the items outside
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the Sannidhanam, a holy place, as against the Devaswom Board Manual and also for
gold cladding of the Dwarapalaka plates which would not require any gold cladding
as its origin itself is gold. That is to say, as submitted by the learned ADGP, the 1 st
accused, Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty, is neither 'the poojari' nor 'the assistant poojari'
of the Sabarimala temple. But he continued in the Sabarimala without any official
designation under the grace of some high profile officials and as part of conspiracy
hatched between the accused persons, he was authorised to take out the
Dwarapalaka plates, originally cladded with gold, on the premise of describing the
same as one made of 'copper plates', as against the mandate of Devaswom Board
Manual. On perusal of the prosecution records, the allegations are very serious and
mind blowing since such a misappropriation happened in a sacred place, viz.,
Sabarimala Sannidhanam and this Court is shocked of the events. It appears from
the prosecution records prima facie that Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty has not assigned
with any duty in particular and if so, why he continued and dealt with the affairs of
the Sabarimala Sannidhanam is a serious matter. It could be gathered further that
Sri.Unnikrishnan Potty created an aura and enjoyed an unbridled freedom to devour
the valuable gold of the holy deity, with connivance of the accused persons and this
would not be possible without the involvement of some big guns who had role in the
administration of Sabarimala temple of the Devaswam Board. Therefore, the
investigation must go on further to elicit and bring all the culprits involved in this
crime without leaving any room for escape as the allegations are very serious as
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already observed. Despite the same, no investigation in that direction to be
discernible from the records available, in fact, this is a matter of anxiety
and displeasure. I hope that the Investigating Officer shall give his
attention in this regard hereafter, without fail.
29. In this connection, it is relevant to refer paragraph 49 of
the judgment of the Apex Court reported in [2023 KHC 6191 : 2023 KHC
OnLine 6191 : AIR 2023 SC 1441 : 2023 (6) SCC 559] State of
Chattisgarh v. Aman Kumar Singh, wherein the Apex Court dealt with
the menace of corruption as under:
"49. We preface our discussion, leading to the answers to the
above two questions, taking note of a dangerous and disquieting trend
that obviously disturbs us without end. Though it is the preambular
promise of the Constitution to secure social justice to the people of
Indian by striving to achieve equal distribution of wealth, it is yet a
distant dream. If not the main, one of the more prominent hurdles for
achieving progress in this field is undoubtedly `corruption'.
Corruption is a malaise, the presence of which is all pervading in
every walk of life. It is not now limited to the spheres of activities of
governance; regrettably, responsible citizens say it has become a way
of one's life. Indeed, it is a matter of disgrace for the entire
community that not only on the one hand is there a steady decline in
steadfastly pursuing the lofty ideals which the founding fathers of our
Constitution had in mind, degradation of moral values in society is
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rapidly on the rise on the other. Not much debate is required to trace
the root of corruption. `Greed', regarded in Hinduism as one of the
seven sins, has been overpowering in its impact. In fact, unsatiated
greed for wealth has facilitated corruption to develop like cancer. If
the corrupt succeed in duping the law enforcers, their success erodes
even the fear of getting caught. They tend to bask under a hubris that
rules and regulations are for humbler mortals and not them. To get
caught, for them, is a sin. Little wonder, outbreak of scams is
commonly noticed. What is more distressing is the
investigations/inquiries that follow. More often than not, these are
botched and assume the proportion of bigger scams than the scams
themselves. However, should this stage of affairs be allowed to
continue? Tracking down corrupt public servants and punishing them
appropriately is the mandate of the P.C. Act. "We the people", with
the adoption of our Constitution, had expected very high standards
from people occupying positions of trust and responsibility in line with
the Constitutional ethos and values.
Regrettably, that has not been possible because, inter alia, a small
section of individuals inducted in public service for `serving the
public' appear to have kept private interest above anything else and, in
the process, amassed wealth not proportionate to their know sources
of income at the cost of the nation. Although an appropriate
legislation is in place to prevent the cancer of corruption from
growing and developing, wherefor maximum punishment by way of
imprisonment for ten years is stipulated, curbing it in adequate
measure, much less eradicating it, is not only elusive but unthinkable
in present times. Since there exists no magic wand as in fairy tales, a
swish of which could wipe out greed, the Constitutional Courts owe a
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duty to the people of the nation to show zero tolerance to corruption
and come down heavily against the perpetrators of the crime while at
the same time saving those innocent public servants, who
unfortunately get entangled by men of dubious conduct acting from
behind the screen with ulterior motives and/or to achieve vested
interests. The task, no doubt, is onerous but every effort ought to be
made to achieve it by sifting the grain from the chaff. We leave the
discussion here with the fervent hope of better times in future."
30. In this context, it is relevant to refer Section 187(1) & (2)
of BNSS, which reads as under:
"187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in
twenty-four hours.
(1) Whenever any person is arrested and detained in
custody, and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed
within the period of twenty-four hours fixed by section 58, and there
are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well-
founded, the officer in charge of the police station or the police officer
making the investigation, if he is not below the rank of sub-inspector,
shall forthwith transmit to the nearest Magistrate a copy of the entries
in the diary hereinafter specified relating to the case, and shall at the
same time forward the accused to such Magistrate.
(2) The Magistrate to whom an accused person is
forwarded under this section may, irrespective of whether he has or
has no jurisdiction to try the case, after taking into consideration
whether such person has not been released on bail or his bail has been
cancelled, authorise, from time to time, the detention of the accused in
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such custody as such Magistrate thinks fit, for a term not exceeding
fifteen days in the whole, or in parts, at any time during the initial forty
days or sixty days out of detention period of sixty days or ninety days,
as the case may be, as provided in sub-section (3), and if he has no
jurisdiction to try the case or commit it for trial, and considers further
detention unnecessary, he may order the accused to be forwarded to a
Magistrate having such jurisdiction.
31. Here the learned counsel for Murari Babu as well
as the learned ADGP would agree that only `eight days' custody has
been obtained insofar as Murari Babu is concerned and that the
prosecution could obtain his further custody for a period of 7 days
within the statutory period of 60 days. That apart, K.S.Baiju and
N.Vasu completed only 35 and 33 days' custody and their custody
can be sought for by the prosecution limiting the same to a total of
15 days, within sixty days' of their custody. However, apart from all,
the seriousness of the case is aggravating further which disentitles
bail to the accused. Most importantly as held by the Apex Court in
State of Chattisgarh v. Aman Kumar Singh's case (supra) that,
unsatiated greed for wealth has facilitated corruption to develop like cancer.
If the corrupt succeed in duping the law enforcers, their success erodes even
the fear of getting caught. What is more distressing is the
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investigations/inquiries that follow. More often than not, these are botched
and assume the proportion of bigger scams than the scams themselves.
Tracking down corrupt public servants and punishing them appropriately is
the mandate of the P.C. Act. "We the people", with the adoption of our
Constitution, had expected very high standards from people occupying
positions of trust and responsibility in line with the Constitutional ethos and
values. Further, there exists no magic wand as in fairy tales, a swish of which
could wipe out greed, the Constitutional Courts owe a duty to the people of the
nation to show zero tolerance to corruption and come down heavily against
the perpetrators of the crime while at the same time saving those innocent
public servants, who unfortunately get entangled by men of dubious conduct
acting from behind the screen with ulterior motives and/or to achieve vested
interests. The task, no doubt, is onerous but every effort ought to be made to
achieve it by sifting the grain from the chaff.
32. In equal moiety, flaws, laziness and willful lapses
in the investigation of serious cases including corruption should be
avoided to secure defect free investigation and eventful prosecution.
Indubitabily, when the investigation in serious cases including
corruption is not fully defect free, without any loop hole the corrupt
persons, including the big guns involved therein, would escape from
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the process of law and prosectution and the same would affect the
development of the country, the social equilibrium and the economic
fabric. Therefore, while dealing with serious case including
corruption, the investigation as well as the prosecution should be so
vigilant to avoid escape of the culprits, including the big guns
involved therein to protect the wish of the framers of the Constitution
and to safeguard the Society as a whole.
33. In such cases, age old ailments such as diabetes,
hypertension, etc. and medication thereof are also not grounds for
granting bail, since such infirmities can be adequately addressed by
the jail authorities or the Investigating Agency by giving proper
medical care to the accused persons.
34. Having said so, at this stage, the release of the
petitioners on regular bail would definitely impede the investigation,
as already discussed in detail hereinabove and also the same would
be detrimental to the interest of the holy Deity as well as the lakhs of
devotees. Hence these petitions are liable to be dismissed.
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Accordingly these petitions stand dismissed.
Sd/-
A.BADHARUDEEN, JUDGE
rtr/
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APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 14361 OF 2025
PETITIONER's ANNEXURES
Annexure -1 TRUE COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME NO. 3701/2025
DATED 11-10-2025 FILED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT
BEFORE THE JUDICIAL FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE'S
COURT, RANNI.
Annexure -2 CERTIFIED COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 29-11-2025
IN CRL.M.P.NO. 246/2025 OF THE COURT OF THE
ENQUIRY COMMISSIONER AND SPECIAL JUDGE,
KOLLAM.
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APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 14369 OF 2025
PETITIONER's ANNEXURES
Annexure -1 TRUE COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME NO. 3700/2025
DATED 11-10-2025 FILED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT
BEFORE THE JUDICIAL FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE'S
COURT, RANNI.
Annexure -2 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION FILED BY THE
INVESTIGATING OFFICER BEFORE THE COURT OF THE
ENQUIRY COMMISSIONER AND SPECIAL JUDGE
(VIGILANCE), KOLLAM DATED 29-11-2025.
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APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 14394 OF 2025
PETITIONER's ANNEXURES
Annexure-I A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
26.11.2025 IN CRL MP NO 238/2025 BEFORE COURT
OF ENQUIRY COMMISSIONER AND SPECIAL JUDGE,
KOLLAM.
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APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 14395 OF 2025
PETITIONER's ANNEXURES
Annexure I A COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 26.11.2025 IN CRL
MP NO 240/2025 OF THE HON'BLE ENQUIRY
COMMISSIONER AND SPECIAL JUDGE, VIGILANCE,
KOLLAM.
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APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 14430 OF 2025
PETITIONER's ANNEXURES
Annexure I A COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 16.02.2019 FROM
THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
Annexure II A COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS DATED 26.02.2019.
Annexure III THE LETTER TO THE BOARD DATED 06-03-2019.
Annexure IV THE ORDER DATED 20.03.2019, SIGNED BY THE
SECRETARY ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD.
Annexure V MAHAZAR DATED 18.05.2019.
Annexure VI THE COMMUNICATION DATED 09.12.2019.
Annexure VII A COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION SENT TO THE
THIRUVABHARAM COMMISSIONER FROM THE
TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD DATED 17.12.2019.
Annexure VIII A COPY OF THE BOARD NOTE.
Annexure-VIII(a) A COPY OF THE BOARD NOTE AND THE COMMENT ON
THE NOTE DATED 24.12.2019.
Annexure IX MEDICAL RECORDS OF THE PETITIONER.
Annexure X CERTIFIED COPY OF THE BAIL ORDER DATED
03.12.2025 IN CRL.MP NO 248/2025 IN THE COURT
OF THE ENQUIRY COMMISSIONER AND SPECIAL JUDGE
KOLLAM.
