New Delhi | The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed a former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) secretary to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold-loss case as it extended her anticipatory bail period.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and S C Sharma extended the protection from arrest granted to former TDB secretary S Jayasree and asked her to appear before the investigating officer of the case.
"Having regard to the contents of paragraph 16 of the counter-affidavit of the respondent-State of Kerala, we direct the petitioner to appear before the investigating officer on February 18, 2026, at 12 noon once again for further interrogation. Interim protection, granted earlier, shall continue till the next date of hearing," the court said.
It directed the matter to be listed on February 20.
On December 18, 2025, the top court, while granting protection from arrest to Jayasree considering her health condition, directed her to appear before the investigating officer on January 8-9.
Jayasree, who is the fourth accused in the case related to the loss of gold from Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) plates, was the TDB secretary in 2019.
The allegation against Jayasree is that following her order, the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka idols were handed over to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty for re-plating in 2019.
However, Jayasree has claimed that she had issued the order based on a decision taken by the board.
The former TDB secretary had maintained that she had not taken any independent decision on handing over the Dwarapalaka plates or the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) doorframe plates and that she had acted in accordance with the board's directions.
The SIT, constituted in accordance with the Kerala High Court's directions, is probing two cases related to the gold-loss incident and has arrested 10 people so far.
The high court recently reviewed the progress of the investigation and granted six more weeks to the SIT to conclude the probe.
