Sabarimala gold theft case: Kerala HC stays vigilance court’s 'no evidence' remarks on Tantri

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued a stay on specific observations made by a vigilance court concerning the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe and allegations against Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru. The matter involves the high-profile investigation into the alleged loss of gold from temple artifacts.

Presiding over the appeal, Justice A Badharudeen also issued a notice to the Tantri, requesting his formal response to the SIT’s challenge. The High Court's intervention follows a petition by the SIT seeking both the cancellation of Rajeevaru’s bail and the removal of comments made by the lower court during his release.

Conflict over evidence and investigation

The Director General of Prosecution, T A Shaji, confirmed the order. The SIT, represented by additional public prosecutor P Narayanan, argued that the bail and the lower court's remarks resulted in a "grave miscarriage of justice”.

On February 18, the Court of Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance) in Kollam granted bail to the Tantri, stating there was not "an iota of evidence" linking him to the missing gold. The SIT, however, contends that these "unwarranted and unnecessary observations" directly interfere with their active investigation.

The core allegations

The SIT is investigating the misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames. Rajeevaru is listed as the 16th accused in the former case and the 13th in the latter.

Key points of the SIT's appeal include

The mahazar discrepancy: While the vigilance court noted the Tantri did not sign a crucial document (mahazar) on July 20, 2019, the SIT claims he "purposefully abstained" to avoid traceability while facilitating the illegal transport of artifacts.

• Mislabeling gold: The SIT alleges that on July 19, 2019, the Tantri signed a document where gold-clad artifacts were falsely described as "mere copper plates”, allowing them to be moved off-site.
• Influence on TDB: Investigators claim that the Tantri’s opinion was the catalyst for the Travancore Devaswom Board’s decision to hand the items over to another individual.
  
  PTI