Kerala High Court Rejects Bail Pleas in Sabarimala Gold Theft Case

The Kerala High Court has refused to grant bail to three accused persons in the Sabarimala gold theft case, including former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President A Padmakumar, ex-TDB administrative officer B Murari Babu, and Karnataka-based jeweller Roddam Pandurangaiah Naga Govardhan.

The order was passed by Justice A Badharudeen in connection with criminal cases arising out of the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala temple.

What is the case about?

The case relates to allegations that gold was stolen from the Dwarapalaka idols and the gold-clad door frames of the Sreekovil at the temple. After these items were taken for repair and later returned, officials reportedly found that the gold covering was nearly 4 kilograms less than its original weight.

Padmakumar was the TDB President in 2019, the period during which the alleged theft took place. He was arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after being questioned at a confidential location in Thiruvananthapuram.

According to the police, Padmakumar played a direct role in enabling the theft by conspiring with the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti. It is alleged that he described gold-clad copper sheets merely as “copper sheets” in the agenda note of a TDB meeting held in March 2019. This classification allegedly allowed Potti to take custody of the temple items and misappropriate the gold.

Unnikrishnan Potti, the main accused, had sponsored the repair work. The investigation claims that procedural lapses and irregularities by TDB officials gave him access to the gold under the cover of sponsorship.

Arguments by the accused

Senior Advocate P. Vijayabhanu, appearing for Padmakumar and Govardhan, argued that the allegations against Padmakumar amounted only to a violation of the Devaswom Manual, which cannot be treated as a criminal offence. He also stated that Govardhan had no role in the alleged theft, apart from funding the restoration work and making donations to the temple.

It was further submitted that during a raid conducted on October 24, 2025, the SIT had seized 474.97 grams of 24-karat imported gold from Govardhan’s shop and residence. The defence argued that both Padmakumar and Govardhan had cooperated with the investigation and should therefore be granted bail.

Counsel for Murari Babu pointed out that his client had already spent over 80 days in custody and that further custodial interrogation was unnecessary.

State’s stand

The State opposed all three bail pleas, maintaining that the allegations were serious and that granting bail at this stage could affect the investigation.

After considering the submissions, the High Court refused to grant bail to all three accused.