- KR Bharat
- 2025-12-12
The Kollam Vigilance Court has rejected the bail plea of former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President A. Padmakumar in the Sabarimala gold heist case, marking a major setback for the senior CPI(M) leader.
The court dismissed his application linked to the Kattillappalli sub-case, where Padmakumar is accused of procedural lapses and the alleged illicit handling of temple assets, including misreported gold sheets.
Padmakumar argued that the controversial decision to hand over the palika (gold sheets) to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti was a collective one taken with full board approval, and that records marking the material as “copper” were made transparently. The court, however, was not convinced and denied relief.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) continues to probe the suspected misappropriation of Sabarimala temple property, examining irregularities and manipulation of records. Six people have been arrested so far.
Prime accused Potti has also filed for bail, with a hearing scheduled on December 18. The case remains under intense scrutiny as the SIT is expected to make further arrests in the coming days.
