The Kerala High Court on Tuesday said that a comprehensive Vigilance inquiry needs to be conducted to ascertain the extent of alleged misappropriation of funds by employees of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) at Sabarimala Sannidhanam with regard to the sale of ‘Adiya Sishtam Ghee.’
A bench of Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice KV Jayakumar went on to uphold the Director, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau as the next respondent in the suo motu case.
Earlier this month, it was reported that more than 16,000 packets of ghee worth ₹16 lakh, which were given to the distribution counters at the hill temple, were missing.
The court observed that the extent of short remittances in a limited period of time is alarming and cannot be dismissed as an accounting error. “Especially when a counter clerk is relieved and another person takes over, inventory is not taken and the final balance is not recorded in accordance with the prescribed procedure. It creates an environment that leads to such diversion and misappropriation of funds.”
The facts disclosed prima facie show a clear case of the offense of embezzlement, falsification of accounts/records and other cognizable offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023 and offenses under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
There are also serious allegations against one Sunil Kumar Potty who did not issue receipts for selling ghee to devotees. It was revealed that ₹68,200 received from the sale was not remitted to the board and that it was remitted by the said employee only after the directives were issued.
If the siphoning of amounts is for a short period of less than two months, limited only to the sale of “Adiya Sishtam Ghee” to the tune of ₹35,000 from the beginning of the Mandalam-Makaravilakku season, it is difficult to even imagine the scale of misappropriation that could have taken place over a longer period and across the other revenue streams mentioned.
Published – 13 Jan 2026 20:51 IST
