Kerala High Court Orders Vigilance Investigation into Sabarimala Ghee Sale Irregularities
The Kerala High Court has taken decisive action regarding financial irregularities at the Sabarimala temple. On Tuesday, a bench comprising Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar issued an order for a vigilance probe. This investigation will focus on the alleged misappropriation of funds from the sale of 'aadiya sishtam ghee'. This ghee is the leftover portion after the sacred Neyyabhishekam offering at the Sannidhanam.
Court Directs Swift Action Based on Special Commissioner's Report
The court passed this significant order while reviewing a report submitted by the Sabarimala special commissioner. The report explicitly requested a detailed vigilance investigation into the suspected fund mismanagement. The High Court noted that the alleged misappropriation occurred during two specific periods. The first period was from November 17, 2025, to December 26, 2026. The second was from December 27, 2025, to January 2, 2026. The total estimated amount involved is around Rs 35 lakh.
The bench issued clear directives to the vigilance director. They must constitute a team of competent officers immediately. This team will initiate steps to register a formal crime. Their action will be based on the report filed by the Travancore Devaswom Board's chief vigilance and security officer. The vigilance team now faces a strict deadline. They must submit a progress report to the court within one month.
Specific Findings from Temple Inspection Reveal Systematic Lapses
The court's order follows a detailed inspection conducted on December 14, 2025. The chief vigilance and security officer carried out this inspection. It uncovered that sale proceeds from 16,628 packets of ghee were not deposited into the TDB account. These packets were sold specifically through the Maramath Building counter at the temple.
The inspection report described the ghee handling process. The ghee is stored in a large steel tank with a 700-litre capacity. A motor is used to fill the ghee into individual packets. The contractor had a clear mandate. They were required to fill each packet with exactly 100 millilitres of ghee. Devotees then purchased these packets at the counters for Rs 100 each.
A deeper analysis of the records revealed more discrepancies. Between November 17, 2025, and December 26, 2026, the contractor packed a total of 3,52,050 packets. Each packet contained 100 ml of ghee. The contractor handed all these packets over to the temple special officer for sale to pilgrims.
Out of this large quantity, approximately 89,300 packets were sold through the Maramath Building counter on various days. However, the employees managing that counter only deposited money for 75,450 packets. This created a glaring gap in the accounts. The records clearly indicate that the sale proceeds for 13,679 packets were never remitted. This amounts to a significant sum of Rs 13.68 lakh that went missing.
Additional Financial Irregularities and Disciplinary Action
Meanwhile, the Travancore Devaswom Board provided further information to the High Court. They identified a specific employee, Sunil Kumar Potti. The board stated that Potti failed to issue proper receipts for ghee sales to devotees. This occurred between November 24, 2025, and November 30, 2025.
During this period, an amount of Rs 68,200 collected from sales was not remitted to the board. TDB officials clarified that the amount was eventually deposited. However, this happened only after specific directions were issued. Even then, there was a considerable delay of 17 days before the money reached the board's account.
The board has already taken disciplinary measures. Upon receiving information about this misappropriation, they placed Sunil Kumar Potti under suspension. The TDB informed the court that further disciplinary action has been formally proposed against him.
The High Court has imposed an important procedural safeguard. The vigilance team must obtain prior permission from the bench before filing any final report. This report would be submitted to the jurisdictional court. This step ensures judicial oversight throughout the investigation process.
