Kerala High Court Issues Notice On VHP's Plea Seeking CBI Probe Into Sabarimala Gold Loss, Auditing Of Precious Articles In Other Temples

The Kerala High Court on Monday (October 13) issued notice on a plea filed by Viswa Hindu Parishad seeking CBI inquiry into Sabarimala gold loss case. The petitioner organisation has also sought directions to the four devaswom boards (Travancore Devaswom Board, Cochin Devaswom Board, Malabar Devaswom Board and Guruvayur Devaswom Board) to conduct an exhaustive and comprehensive auditing and appraisal of precious articles possessed by the various temples under them.When the matter came up for consideration, the Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar was told by the Malabar Devaswom that it has only a supervisory role over more than 1,008 temples under it and that the trustees are in charge of individual temples.Thereupon, the Court observed, "It is submitted that in view of the prayers advanced, the petitioner be directed to implead the trustees as well. It is for the petitioner to take note of the above aspect and take appropriate steps."Noting the recent several incidents of alleged mismanagement of precious jewellery and other articles under the four statutory devaswom in Kerala, the petitioner has approached the High Court seeking its intervention in conducting a comprehensive appraisal of valuable and movable articles in temples.The petitioner is stated to be an organisation established in 1964 with the goal to protect and preserve Hindu Dharma, including the fight against mismanagement of temples. In the plea, it is mentioned that inclusion of inspectors Aneesh and Biju Radhakrishnan in the Special Investigation Team that is looking into the Sabarimala case can hamper fair investigation as these persons have worked as officers in the Devaswom Vigilance during the time at which these alleged incident of misappropriation occurred.The petitioner organisation submits that since the Dwarapalaka idols were taken to various States outside Kerala, it would be proper to direct a neutral central agency to conduct the investigation under the supervision of the Court.The petitioner, in its plea, has referred to various newspaper reports in which other instances of missing precious articles belonging to the deity was brought to light, including the Sree Poornathayeesa temple in Thrippunithura.Thus, the petitioner has also prayed for a direction to the boards to conduct auditing and appraisal of precious articles and jewelries including gold, silver, copper and other precious metals and stones including the purity and weight of the article kept in the custody of various temples managed by the devaswom boards under the supervision of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).A direction is also sought to the devaswom boards to produce the mahazars prepared during the past 20 years at the time of handing over the charge by one officer to another in all the temples.The case is posted on November 17.Case No: WP(C) No. 37585 of 2025 and connected caseCase Title: Viswa Hindu Parishad, Kerala v. State of Kerala and Ors.Counsel for the petitioner: Krishna Raj, E.S.Soni, R. Pratheesh (Aranmula)Counsel for the respondents: G. Biju - Travancore Devaswom Board, K.P. Sudheer - Cochin Devaswom Board, R. Rajanie - Malabar Devaswom Board, T.K. Vipindas - Guruvayoor Devaswom Board, Sreelal N. Warrier - CBI, Deputy Solicitor General of India - CAGClick to Read/Download interim order

Kerala High Court Issues Notice On VHP's Plea Seeking CBI Probe Into Sabarimala Gold Loss, Auditing Of Precious Articles In Other Temples

K. Salma Jennath

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