The Supreme Court will hear on March 19 the plea filed by Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari challenging his arrest in the alleged Sabarimala gold misappropriation case. The Kerala High Court had earlier refused to declare his arrest illegal.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on March 19 a petition filed by the Chief Executive Officer of Chennai-based Smart Creations, who has challenged his arrest in the alleged gold misappropriation case linked to the famous Sabarimala temple.
A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order while listing the matter for hearing next month. The case relates to the alleged misuse of gold that was given for plating work on temple idols.
The controversy began after the Dwarapalaka idols of the Sabarimala temple were sent to Smart Creations for gold plating work. The company’s CEO, Pankaj Bhandari, later came under investigation in connection with allegations that gold entrusted for the work was misappropriated.
Bhandari has approached the Supreme Court challenging a February 13 order of the Kerala High Court, which had dismissed his plea against his arrest. He filed the Special Leave Petition in the top court through advocate Vivek Jain.
While listing the matter, the Supreme Court said, “List the special leave petition on March 19, 2026,” thereby fixing the next date of hearing.
Before the Kerala High Court, Bhandari had argued that his arrest was illegal. He claimed that the mandatory legal requirements were not followed at the time of his arrest. According to him, he was not properly informed about the grounds of arrest, and the required intimation procedures were not complied with.
However, the prosecution strongly opposed his arguments before the High Court. It submitted that all mandatory legal procedures were followed during the arrest process.
After considering both sides, the High Court rejected Bhandari’s plea. The court observed that the only irregularity in the procedure was related to the delay in producing him before the Special Vigilance Court at Kollam.
The High Court noted that there was a delay in presenting him before the special court because of the time taken for his medical examination and the travel of around 71 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam. The court, however, made it clear that such delay alone could not invalidate the arrest. It observed, “I do not think that the same by itself is a reason to declare the arrest as illegal,” thereby refusing to interfere with the arrest.
The case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing allegations of misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) of the Sabarimala temple.
According to the SIT, Bhandari and Ballari-based jeweller Govardhan Roddam played a key role in a conspiracy to steal gold from the temple artefacts. The investigators have alleged that the accused persons misused the gold that was entrusted to them for electroplating work.
The SIT has further alleged that Bhandari and Roddam, along with the first accused Unnikrishnan Potty, had planned the theft of gold that was handed over for plating the idols and related temple structures.
The Supreme Court will now examine the legality of Bhandari’s arrest and the findings of the Kerala High Court when the matter comes up for hearing on March 19, 2026. The case has attracted significant public attention given the religious importance of the Sabarimala temple and the serious nature of the allegations involving temple property.
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