Kerala High Court Orders Vigilance Inspection Into Alleged Gold Misappropriation At Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple
The Kerala High Court has recently (23 June) directed the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer, Travancore Devaswom Board to submit a report after inspection of the temple registers as well as the "Ezharaponnana" of Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple.
Ezharaponnana refers to the seven-and-a-half golden elephants which are kept in the temple vault and taken out once a year for darshan by the devotees. Of the eight statuettes, seven have a height of two ft. each and the eighth one is half the size.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K. V. Jayakumar issued the directions in a suo motu proceeding initiated pursuant to a complaint by a devotee alleging that the original gold plates from the "Ezharaponnana" were removed and replaced with copper or other low-value metals, during recent repair and renovation works carried out at the temple.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, in an affidavit stated that all relevant registers were duly inspected and cross-checked. It was further submitted that there are no records indicating any maintenance work on the Ezharaponnana or any misappropriation.
While the Court stated that there is no reason to disbelieve the assertions in the report, it nonetheless directed the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer, Travancore Devaswom Board, to inspect the temple registers as well as the Ezharapponnana and to submit a report before this Court containing his opinion and findings on the allegations.
The Court has also stated that the Vigilance can avail the services of a Smith to ascertain the weight, quality and originality of the gold during the course of the investigation.
The matter is posted on 31 July for further consideration.
Case Title: Suo Motu v State of Kerala
Case No: DBP 42/ 2026