KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday uncovered a trail of glaring inconsistencies in the repair of the Sreekovil’s main door at Sabarimala, revealing how prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti was given unfettered control over a process that should have been tightly supervised.
Verifying the report filed by the Special Investigation Team in a sealed cover, the court identified discrepancies related to the repair of the Sreekovil’s main door. Records reveal that Potti was granted permission to carry out the repairs in 2019.
Based on this permission, he employed Nandan, a carpenter, who was brought to Sannidhanam to take measurements of the door. Because Nandan arrived at a time when the Nada was open, the Keezhsanthis (sub-priests) removed the doors and handed them over for measurement, after which they were replaced. This was possible because the doors were hung from an inverse lock and could be removed easily without much intervention.
Nandan then purchased teakwood in Thrissur and took it to the Sree Rampuram Ayyappa Temple in Bengaluru. After completing the work, the door was brought back to Sannidhanam via Thrissur and its fitting was tested. Once confirmed to be satisfactory, the doors were taken to Hyderabad for copper plating, and was brought back again to test the fitting, and finally transported to Chennai for gold plating.
The investigation revealed that when the doors were in Potti’s custody, a function was organised at the Elampally Temple in Kottayam, attended by an actor, the-then TDB president, and Board members.
As per practice and the manual, repairs of the main door should have been carried out under the strict supervision of the Maramath Department. Instead, Potti was given a free hand.
The front door of the Sreekovil and the artwork above it had originally been covered with 2,519.760 grams of 24K gold in 1998–1999. After the court ordered a Vigilance investigation, the old doors were found lying exposed to the elements near the Ashtabhishekam counter, after which they were finally moved to the strongroom.
It needs to be ascertained whether the doors seized by the SIT after commencement of the present proceedings are indeed the original gold-cladded doors installed in 1998–1999. It must also be determined whether TDB officials permitted Potti to remove the original door and replace it with the one he brought, plated with only 324.400 grams of gold.
The court further noted that the TDB Minutes Book has been updated only up to July 28, and even those entries are irregular and incomplete. The court found it alarming that the Board Order dated September 2, 2025, granting permission to undertake repair and gold-plating of the Dwarapalakas at Smart Creations, Chennai, finds no entry at all in the Minutes Book.
Incomplete records
The court noted that the TDB Minutes Book has been updated only up to July 28, and even those entries are irregular and incomplete
The Board Order granting permission to undertake repair and gold-plating of Dwarapalakas finds no entry at all in the Minutes Book