The Kerala High Court on Monday ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team to look into alleged irregularities in the gold plating of the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala. The issue came to light after it was found that the gold-clad copper plates on the guardian deity idols had reduced in weight.

A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar directed the creation of the SIT after the Travancore Devaswom Board Vigilance team submitted an interim report from its initial probe into the matter.

Earlier, the court had instructed the Vigilance team to examine why the idols weighed less after they were sent to a Chennai-based company for electroplating. The process was sponsored in 2019 by businessman Unnikrishnan Potty.

The SIT will be headed by Superintendent of Police S Sasidharan, with Crime Branch chief and Additional Director General of Police H Venketesh overseeing its functioning. Officers from the Cyber Police will also be part of the team.

Sources in the government said that the state had suggested the names of the officers to the High Court. Sasidharan was chosen because of his experience in handling sensitive and complex criminal cases, including the 2022 Elanthoor human sacrifice case.

The High Court has directed that the investigation be conducted confidentially and that the findings be reported directly to the court.

Last week, the court had also ordered a detailed inventory of all valuables, including gold, at the Sabarimala temple, under the supervision of retired Justice K T Sankaran.

As part of the investigation, the Travancore Devaswom Board Vigilance team had questioned Unnikrishnan Potty for two days before submitting its report to the court.

Meanwhile, Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan welcomed the High Court’s decision, saying it was a necessary step to ensure transparency and accountability in temple affairs.