Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Monday permitted the SIT probing the Sabarimala gold loss case to dismantle the temple's Prabhamandalam (decorative metal arch) and upper-side door frame plates and collect samples for scientific analysis.
A division bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar granted the permission after considering a detailed progress report submitted by the Special Investigation Team.
Investigating officer S Sasidharan appeared before the court and submitted the report.
He informed the court that reports relating to the investigation into the gold-plated or gold-clad copper plates of the Sabarimala temple, which had been forwarded to the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, were received on May 29.
“It is submitted that the report is highly comprehensive and, when read together with the report submitted by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), provides a clear picture of the methodology adopted and sheds light on the manner in which the offence was perpetrated,” the court observed.
The court said it had carefully examined the NML report and found that it would significantly aid in identifying the manner in which the alleged pilferage of gold was carried out at sannidhanam (temple complex).
According to the report submitted before the court, the investigation has so far examined and recorded statements of 408 witnesses.
The SIT also seized two one-terabyte hard disks used in the office of the Sabarimala executive officer for maintaining temple records, and a two-terabyte hard disk containing data related to the 2018–19 period. These have been forwarded to the Kerala State Forensic Science Laboratory for examination.
The court was informed that analysis of the digital records is in progress and reports are awaited.
The SIT stated that in 2019, Smart Creations, Chennai, had stripped gold cladding from artefacts using a special chemical known as “stripping salt” procured from Mumbai.
A sample of the substance has been collected and sent to NML for scientific analysis. The results are awaited and are considered crucial to determining the method allegedly used to remove gold from the artefacts.
The report stated that the SIT had obtained details regarding copper plates purchased in 1998, and that further verification was required in Chennai.
The SIT informed the court that although samples had earlier been collected from certain artefacts in the Sabarimala Sreekovil, the Prabhamandalam plates and the upper-side door frame plate could not be dismantled due to objections and practical difficulties faced by skilled workers engaged for the task.
It submitted that dismantling the structures and collecting samples with the assistance of experts was necessary to ascertain the actual weight of the artefacts and accurately assess the quantity of gold cladding on them.
Accepting the request, the court said it was satisfied that the step was necessary at the present stage of the investigation.
“Accordingly, we grant permission to the SIT to dismantle the Prabhamandalam plates and the upper-side door frame plate, collect samples therefrom with the assistance of experts, and forward the same to the laboratory for analysis, so that the truth of the matter may be fully and conclusively ascertained,” the bench said.
The SIT also informed the court that the investigation into the events leading to the removal and disposal of the Dwarapalaka idol plates in 2025 had reached its final stages.
It sought time till June 18 to apprise the court of further developments, including the culpability and role of the persons involved.
The SIT further submitted that the investigation was nearing completion and that the final report could be filed without further delay.
The SIT, constituted by the High Court, is probing two cases related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames at Sabarimala.
As part of the investigation, the SIT had arrested 12 persons in the two cases.
However, as the investigation could not be completed within the stipulated 90-day period, all the accused were released on statutory bail.
Kochi | A Kerala High Court judge on Monday recused himself from hearing a petition filed by the survivor in the 2017 actor assault case seeking a probe into the alleged illegal access of a memory card containing visuals of the crime.
Justice Jobin Sebastian recused himself from the case, observing that he had been holding charge as Registrar (District Judiciary) when the survivor had earlier raised a similar complaint on the administrative side of the High Court.
The petition will now be placed before another bench for consideration.
In 2022, the survivor approached the Kerala High Court alleging that the memory card containing visuals of the assault had been accessed illegally.
Subsequently, in 2023, the High Court directed the Principal District cum Sessions Court, Ernakulam, to conduct an inquiry into the allegation.
The survivor last week moved the High Court seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team comprising cyber experts into the alleged unauthorised access to the memory card while it was in the custody of the Magistrate Court and Sessions Court in Ernakulam before the commencement of the trial.
Last year, the Principal District and Sessions Court, Ernakulam, acquitted actor Dileep in the case.
The court, however, convicted six persons who were found to have directly participated in the abduction and sexual assault.
The case relates to the abduction and sexual assault of an actor in a moving vehicle while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi on February 17, 2017.
