KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday flagged apparent stagnation in the probe into the Sabarimala gold scam and raised doubts over the selective arraignment of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) members by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The court, which expressed concern over the slow pace of the probe, also flayed the SIT for not proceeding against advocate N Vijayakumar and K P Sankar Das, who were members of the TDB in 2019.
The court noted that the order permitting Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused, to take the door frames and other items from the temple for gold cladding, by mentioning them as copper-plated, was signed by then TDB president A Padmakumar, advocate Vijayakumar and K P Sankar Das, apart from former TDB secretary S Jayasree. “It is surprising to note that, when asked whether Vijayakumar and Sankar Das were arraigned and arrested, the prosecution submitted it has not been done so far,” the court observed.
The court said this indicated serious stagnation in the investigation after December 5, and directed the investigating officer to address the issue and ensure that the probe proceeds against all erring officials without discrimination or selective targeting.
Justice A Badharudeen observed that the TDB notice dated July 5, 2019 — signed on July 3, 2019, pursuant to a decision of the board — stated that the plates covering dwarapalaka idols and the north and south corners of the sreekovil, which were copper-clad, were entrusted with Potti to be taken outside for gold cladding. The notice was signed by TDB members who participated in meeting and by Jayasree.
No relief for former TDB officials
“However, whether all the Devaswom Board members who attended the meeting have been rightly arraigned as accused in the case remains in serious doubt,” said the court.
Further, it could not be ascertained from the prosecution materials whether the then PWD assistant engineer K Sunil Kumar, former Thiruvabharanam commissioner R G Radhakrishnan; former Sabarimala executive officer V S Rajendra Prasad, and former administrative officer K Rajendran Nair, who have been named in the FIR, were arrested, it observed.
The court made the observations while dismissing the bail pleas of K S Baiju, former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, B Murari Babu, former administrative officer, and N Vasu, former TDB president.
The court had earlier observed that Potti enjoyed unbridled freedom to misappropriate the valuable gold of the deity with the connivance of the accused persons, which would not have been possible without the involvement of influential persons who had a role in the administration of the Sabarimala temple.
Therefore, the investigation must continue to identify and bring to book all those involved without leaving room for escape, as the allegations are grave. On Friday, the court said, “Despite this, no investigation in that direction is discernible from the records available. This is a matter of anxiety and displeasure. I hope that the investigating officer will give due attention to this aspect hereafter, without fail.”
The order also noted stagnation in the investigation after the dismissal of the anticipatory bail applications of the fourth and sixth accused — Jayasree and former administrative officer S Sreekumar— on December 4, despite the prosecution having zealously opposed those pleas. The sixth accused was reportedly arrested only on December 17, 12 days after the dismissal of his bail application, though his role had been dealt with in detail in the order rejecting his plea. Jayasree was not arrested, and her bail application, filed on December 18, is pending consideration before the Supreme Court, it noted.