In a significant development in the high-profile Sabarimala gold theft case, former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar has approached the Kerala High Court seeking bail. Padmakumar stands as the eighth accused in the case involving the alleged misappropriation of gold from the famed hill shrine.
Court Seeks State's Response on Bail Plea
Justice A Badharudeen, hearing the petition on Thursday, directed the state government to submit its instructions on the matter. The court subsequently adjourned the hearing, awaiting the prosecution's official response. This legal move marks a crucial step in the ongoing investigation that has gripped Kerala.
The Allegations Against the Former President
The prosecution has laid out a series of serious charges against Padmakumar, who served as the TDB president from November 15, 2017, to November 14, 2019. Central to the case is the claim that during his tenure, he facilitated the misappropriation of gold from two sacred areas of the temple: the doorframes of the inner sanctum (sreekovil) and the 'prabhamandalam'.
Investigators allege that Padmakumar permitted the removal of these invaluable items for purported repair work. This authorization came despite his alleged full awareness of the devaswom manual's strict stipulation that all maintenance of the temple's precious artefacts must be conducted strictly within the temple premises.
A further accusation points to a specific TDB meeting held on March 19, 2019. The prosecution claims that in the minutes of this meeting, Padmakumar deliberately recorded "gold-clad copper plates" simply as "copper plates," an act seen as an attempt to obscure the true value and nature of the items.
Padmakumar's Defense and Counter-Arguments
In his bail petition, A Padmakumar has categorically denied all allegations. His defense hinges on a constitutional and administrative argument. He contends that the role of the TDB president is primarily that of an administrative head, responsible for overseeing the board's staff and employees. He asserts that the position does not carry unfettered powers to make individual executive decisions, as per the devaswom manual.
Padmakumar has also launched a pointed criticism against the Special Investigation Team (SIT). He cites the SIT's own remand report, which stated his arrest was necessary due to a "lack of time available to the investigation team to question him in detail." In his petition, he argues that curtailing an individual's personal liberty on such a ground—essentially because investigators lacked time—is fundamentally illegal.
The case continues to unfold as the Kerala High Court awaits the state's stance on the bail application, setting the stage for the next legal confrontation in this sensitive matter concerning one of India's most prominent pilgrimage sites.
