The Kerala High Court has flagged several irregularities in the maintenance of the temple’s valuables. The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, also known as Dharma Shasta, is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in the world each year. It is located in the Periyar Tiger Reserve on top of Sabarimala Hill and is encircled by eighteen other hills. It is one of the 1200+ temples that are administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board, an autonomous body.
The incident in question
Recently, the Kerala High Court’s order has brought the controversial temple back into the spotlight after the Sabarimala Special Commissioner came in front of the court informing the High Court’s division bench about the removal of the gold-plated copper coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols without any prior notice, and reportedly has been sent for maintenance work to Chennai, according to an Indian Express report.
The IE report also added that, last time a similar incident took place was in the year 2023. While the High Court instructed the authority to intimate the Special Commissioner before any such maintenance works of the deity’s valuables. Marking it to be a mandatory step.
Out of sight, lighter in weight
Previously, any work on the deity’s ornaments used to take place within the temple premises, under strict supervision. This time, the ornaments were sent to Chennai, to a jewelry firm, Smart Creations. The same company was initially given the responsibility to perform the maintenance work in the year 2019, stated an IE report.
The report also added, the expenses of which were covered by Unnikrishnan Potty, who worked as an assistant to the Sabarimala priest and used to facilitate darshans for VIPs of South India.
Who kept influencing the TDB long after his removal from the temple?
He used his position to befriend major influential personalities like politicians, bureaucrats, and many more, alongside which a missing set of dwarapalaka idols of the temple were found at Potty’s sister’s house.
Series of incidents involved in this
In the year 1999, TDB undertook maintenance work with the 30kg of gold sponsored by UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya, from which 5 kg of gold was used to only cover the Dwarapalaka idols, but when Potty got the approval for sponsoring the maintenance work 20 years later, the documentation mentioned that the idols were covered with copper, according to the IE report.
Later, when the idols were sent to Chennai with Potty and returned to the temple, a difference of 4.54 kg of gold was found, which was overlooked, besides the fact, the idols took 39 days to reach Chennai from Sabarimala without any vigilance officer, as per the IE report.
Besides this, the IE report included that, in 2025, Potty influenced the commissioner’s suggestion regarding electroplating the idols, who was in charge of sacred ornaments. Also violating the TDB guidelines by sending the valuables out of the temple for repair work rather than getting them done within the temple premises.
High Court’s intervention
Upon receiving the complaint, the Kerala High Court initiates suo motu proceedings as the repair work was initiated without the knowledge of the Special Commissioner or the Court.
According to a report by LawChakra, the High Court’s order stated, "We are of the view that a special team of officers of the highest integrity is required to probe into this matter. Sri H Venkatesh IPS, the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law & Order in the Kerala Police, can be appointed as head of the special investigation team, to investigate all aspects of the matter”.
The matter includes a violation of various guidelines, and the valuables were mishandled by not just Potty, but also the involvement of other officials in the conspiracy is being suspected.
