“Let the matter be expedited so that the trial proceedings can commence without further delay,” the Kerala High Court has directed in the Sabarimala Gold Theft Case, after being told that the Special Investigation Team has sought prosecution sanction against ten accused who are public servants.
Kochi: With the Special Investigation Team (SIT) listing 13 accused and 350 witnesses in its final report on the alleged misappropriation of gold at the Sabarimala temple, the Kerala High Court on November 10 recorded that sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been sought against ten accused who are public servants, and directed that the process be expedited so that the trial can begin without further delay [Suo Motu v. State of Kerala].
A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar passed the order in the suo motu writ petition through which it has been monitoring the investigation. P. Sasidharan IPS, who heads the SIT, placed a progress report before the Court. The allegations remain untested, the Court has expressed no view on their merits, and all the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Two monitored investigations
The Bench has been monitoring two SIT investigations into alleged misappropriation of gold at the Sabarimala temple, the Dwarapalaka idols case and the doorframes case. On October 26, it had directed the State to expedite the legal advice needed for the sanction request, after the SIT reported that the Assistant Legal Advisor had not yet assumed charge.
Where the sanction requests stand
According to the report, the Assistant Legal Advisor approved the draft charge and furnished legal advice on November 9, 2026. He pointed out that accused Nos. 3, 8, 11 and 12 are public servants, so sanction under Section 19(1)(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is required before a court can take cognizance against them. A sanction request in the prescribed form has been sent to the Secretary, Revenue (Devaswom) Department, through the Additional Director General of Police (Crimes).
For accused Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 13, the Devaswom Board is the appointing authority, and a separate sanction request under Section 19(1)(c), as amended in 2018, has been sent to the Board through the same officer.
What the final report lists
The SIT told the Court that 13 persons have been arrayed as accused in the final report. The prosecution has cited 350 witnesses, and the report is accompanied by a list of 285 documents and 12 material objects. The final report will be filed before the jurisdictional court once the sanctions are received.
On the sanction requests, the Bench directed:
“Let the matter be expedited so that the trial proceedings can commence without further delay.”
The Dwarapalaka idols case
In Crime No. 3700 of 2025, which concerns the Dwarapalaka idols, the Investigating Officer told the Bench that the investigation has reached “the last lap” and assured that it will be finalised and requests for prosecution sanction submitted. The matter is posted to December 2, 2026.
Why the order matters
Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act bars a court from taking cognizance of offences against a public servant without prior sanction from the authority competent to remove that person. With legal advice now in place and requests pending before both the State’s Devaswom department and the Devaswom Board, the order shifts the focus to how quickly the sanctioning authorities act.
By keeping the case on a short timetable and recording the scale of the prosecution’s evidence, the Court has signalled that it expects the trial in one of Kerala’s most closely watched temple cases to begin without further administrative delay.
Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala [WP(C) No. 40608 of 2025]
Bench: Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar, Kerala High Court
Date of Order: November 10, 2026
Next Date: December 2, 2026
