The controversy surrounding the gold plating at the Sabarimala temple has escalated. The sponsor, Unnikrishnan Potti, had requested permission to use the remaining gold for a wedding. The court ordered a vigilance inquiry into the gold shortage.
Politics has intensified over allegations of gold theft from Kerala’s famous Sabarimala temple. The Congress-led opposition coalition, the UDF, stalled proceedings in the Kerala Assembly for the second consecutive day, demanding the resignation of Devaswom Board Minister V.N. Vasavan over the issue. As soon as Question Hour began, opposition members began shouting slogans and waving placards. Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan reiterated that the opposition would not allow the House to function until the minister resigned.
On Monday, the Kerala High Court ordered a detailed investigation into allegations of irregularities in the gold or copper cladding of the dvarapala idols at the Sabarimala temple. The court formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by ADGP (Law and Order) H. Venkatesh.
The investigation will be supervised by S. Sasidharan, IPS, Assistant Director of KEPA, Thrissur, and has been directed to be completed within six weeks.
Know the whole matter
In fact, the stone statues of the gatekeepers outside the temple’s sanctum sanctorum are covered with gold-plated copper sheets. These are the reasons for the allegations of gold theft and misappropriation. The opposition alleges that the Travancore Devaswom Board removed these sheets for repairs and handed them over to a sponsor named Unnikrishnan Potti.
According to reports, these gold-plated panels were first removed for repairs in 2019. They were returned 39 days later with a recorded weight of 38.258 kg, but a shortage of 4.541 kg was found. In September 2025, the panels were again removed under the guise of repairs, but this time without prior court permission. During the investigation, two pedestals were recovered from Potti’s sister’s home in Thiruvananthapuram. The Devaswom Board refuted the allegations, stating that the panels were never handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti.
The board gave this important information
According to the board, the 14 gold-plated panels weighed a total of 38 kg, containing 397 grams of gold. Two of these panels were kept at Sabarimala, while 12 panels (totaling 22 kg 281 grams and 291 grams of gold) were sent for repair. An additional 10 grams of gold was used during the restoration at Smart Creations in Chennai. After the repairs, all the panels were returned to the temple on the High Court’s direction, and the total gold content now stands at 407 grams.
The board clarified that Smart Creations and Unnikrishnan Potti had provided a 40-year warranty during the 2019 renovation. Since the warranty was in Potti’s name, the same sponsor was contacted in 2025. The board dismissed all allegations of gold theft as baseless and misleading.