The Kerala High Court on Monday ordered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct a preliminary enquiry into allegations that gold went missing during the replacement of the flag mast at the Sabarimala temple in 2017.

The flag mast was installed using gold donated by devotees, after the High Court had permitted the work in 2016. A devotee had earlier filed a complaint with the Devaswom Vigilance, raising concerns about how the donated gold was handled.

A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar noted that although the Court had issued clear directions in 2016 on how gold and other valuable materials were to be accounted for, vigilance records showed serious lapses. These included the absence of individual receipts for gold donations, which is a violation of Devaswom Rules and basic financial accountability norms.

According to the vigilance report, a total of 9,573.010 grams of gold was available through donations and customs purchases. However, records showed that only 9,340.200 grams was used, and there was no proper documentation to verify individual contributions. In view of these discrepancies, the Court said the allegations of gold theft required an independent probe.

The Court clarified that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is already probing allegations of gold theft from the Dwarapalaka idols and the gold-plated copper door frames of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum (Sreekovil), should not be burdened with this additional investigation. As a result, the task of examining the flag mast-related allegations was entrusted to the VACB.

The Court directed the Director of VACB to form a team of “competent and upright officers” to conduct the preliminary enquiry. The team has been asked to record statements from donors, examine financial and material records, and submit a report to the Court within 30 days.

In the same order, the Court also allowed the SIT to collect samples from the temple to carry out advanced scientific testing in the separate gold theft case involving the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil door frames. The SIT informed the Court that preliminary scientific findings suggested that original gold cladding may have been removed and replaced with thinner surface plating to hide misappropriation.

Agreeing with the SIT, the Court said that allegations involving the removal or substitution of gold from a holy shrine strike at the very sanctity of the temple and cannot be decided only on witness statements or documents. The Court stressed that such claims must be supported by scientific and forensic evidence capable of independent verification.

The SIT has been permitted to collect samples from Sannidhanam on February 12 and approach national institutions such as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai, the National Metallurgical Laboratory in Jamshedpur, and the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory in Hyderabad for specialised tests.

The matter will be taken up again on February 19.

During the hearing, the Court also reviewed the progress of the SIT investigation. It was informed that 262 witnesses have been examined so far, and efforts are underway to obtain call data records dating back to 2019 to establish links between the accused. Digital evidence seized from a private Chennai-based firm, Smart Creations, which carried out repair work on the gold-plated copper coverings, is also being analysed by the Forensic Science Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram.

Senior counsel S Sreekumar and standing counsel G Biju appeared for the Travancore Devaswom Board.