The Kerala High Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the “delay” by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in filing the chargesheet in the alleged Sabarimala temple gold embezzlement case, saying how it could lead to those accused in the case being granted statutory bail (after the 90-day remand period).
A bench of Justice A. Badharudeen made this observation while hearing a plea by Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Chennai-based Smart Creations, who challenged his arrest in the case citing procedural lapses in recording his arrest.
The court recalled that the identification of accused persons and the timely filing of charges against them were very important. Otherwise, the public would be suspicious of the probe. In particular, the court pointed to the release of Murari Babu – the former managing director of Sabarimala – on statutory bail.
Published – 28 Jan 2026 0:13 IST
