New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the arrest of former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) secretary S Jayasree, an accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case. A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih issued the stay. The Supreme Court has directed Jayasree to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the gold robbery on January 8 and 9, and to cooperate with the investigation.

Jayasree had approached the Supreme Court, claiming that she had been undergoing treatment for a kidney-related ailment since 2013, and sought anticipatory bail. The Supreme Court has sent a notice to the state government regarding the anticipatory bail application. Senior advocates P B Suresh Kumar and A Karthik appeared for Jayasree, while Standing Counsel C K Sasi and advocate Meena K Paulose represented the state government.

In her anticipatory bail application, Jayasree pointed out that she only implemented the decisions of the Travancore Devaswom Board as its secretary. She joined the Travancore Devaswom Board in 1982 and became the board secretary in 2017. The application also states that she did not interfere in any issue related to Sabarimala during this period.