A Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) probing the misappropriation of Sabarimala Ayyappa temple artefacts is said to be close to establishing legal liability for renting out gilded copper panels to wealthy worshipers for private veneration in their homes and business premises.
Social media videos showing prime suspect Unnikrishnan Potti offering puja to the gilded panels covering the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum in the private quarters of celebrities, notably actor Jayaram, went viral in 2019 after the Vigilance wing of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) somewhat belatedly flagged the October case in the public domain. 2025.
Likewise, TDB Vigilance also provided evidence, including a video of Mr. Potti offering puja to the gilded copper forms encasing the Dwarapalaka figurines that line the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum in the homes of his wealthy patrons in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
Potti’s offer
Mr Potti acquired the gilded panels, donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998, after the TDB accepted his “dubious” offer to restore them free of charge in 2019.
Officials did not commit to whether the SIT would serve notices to Mr. Jayaram and others, given the Supreme Court’s order barring disclosure of information related to the case.
But officials noted that the Supreme Court frowned on the use of TDB-owned artefacts, which they say fall under the broad category of government property, for personal gratification, and that such misuse posed significant legal risks.
Therefore, they said the SIT must summon the persons connected with the crime for questioning to ascertain the facts. With the court’s approval, the SIT could take the call and name them as witnesses or mediators.
Doubts about replication
Meanwhile, the SIT is also reportedly probing the possibility, flagged by the Supreme Court, that the suspects, with the tacit approval of their alleged enablers at TDB, replicated the panels to sell the originals to wealthy collectors, while returning the replicas as originals to the temple after “restoration” at a metal factory in Chennai.
The SIT also told the court that TDB officials deliberately misclassified the gold-plated panels as copper to facilitate the crime and protect the suspects from potential legal jeopardy.
Officials said the SIT is also examining documents, including financial records seized from the house of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader and former TDB president A. Padmakumar, who was arrested and remanded in judicial custody last Thursday. The SIT has so far arrested six persons in the case, including former Devaswom Commissioner N. Vasu.
Published – 23 Nov 2025 19:44 IST
