The Sabarimala Temple has been thrust back into the spotlight this week after the Kerala High Court ordered an extensive probe into alleged malpractices involving the valuables and gold of the shrine. The court appointed former judge KT Sankaran this week to prepare an inventory of temple valuables, and directed the temple vigilance officer to investigate all malpractices at the temple. According to the vigilance officer’s initial report, the gold covering of the “dwarapalaka” idols at the temple’s sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) was removed without informing the court. The current scandal puts the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in a tough bind, coming mere weeks after the Travancore Devaswom Board, the autonomous body that administers 1,250-odd temples in southern Kerala, organised a global outreach event for devotees of Ayyappa, the presiding deity. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) accused the program of being a political event held for the CPI(M)’s gains ahead of the upcoming state elections in 2026. The party had last faced widespread backlash for permitting the entry of women of menstruating ages to the temple in 2018. Here is what to know. Why did the High Court intervene? On September 9, the Sabarimala Special Commissioner informed the division bench of the High Court that the gold-plated copper coverings of the dwarapalaka idols had been removed without prior notice. The items were reportedly sent to Chennai for maintenance, breaking away from the usual practice of carrying out repairs at the temple premises itself under strict supervision. This violated explicit directions issued by the court in 2023 when repairs to ornaments on Lord Ayyappa's idol were undertaken without informing the Special Commissioner. The court had then instructed that prior intimation of any such activities must be given to the Special Commissioner. In 2019, Chennai-based jewellery firm Smart Creations undertook the gold plating of the dwarapalaka idols, with a 40-year warranty. Following defects in the plating six years on, the TDB returned the valuables to the same company for repairs, with their costs covered by Unnikrishnan Potty, who had sponsored the original 2019 gold plating. On September 9, the court questioned the rationale behind sending the valuables to Smart Creations and ordered that the repairs be halted and the items be returned to the temple immediately. As the probe continued, revelations about past gold plating work and unexplained losses came to light. How did the irregularities come to light? In 1999, the TDB had undertaken carried out gold-plating of Dwarapalakas at the entrance, with UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya sponsoring 30 kg of gold. According to an expert involved in this process, five kilograms of gold were used to cover the Dwarapalaka idols alone, and the remaining was used to plate other features of the temple. Twenty years later, Potty secured the TDB’s approval to sponsor the gold-plating of the temple’s idols and valuables at his own expense. However, the handover document made no mention of the existing gold covering installed in 1999 and described the handed over items as bearing “copper plates.'' When the TDB handed over the items to Potty for transport to Chennai, the vigilance officer was not present.The idols reached Smart Creations in Chennai for gold plating 39 days later. When the gold-covered copper plates were brought back to the temple, there was an unexplained loss of 4.54 kg. The TDB reportedly chose to overlook this and entrusted him with the gold-replating project this year. The court found additional irregularities in the 2025 process. Potty had suggested to the TDB that electroplating is better than the traditional gold plating process, claiming it requires only a minimal quantity of gold. The commissioner in charge of sacred ornaments initially disagreed with this claim, favouring the traditional process, and noting in July that Smart Creations was not equipped to remove the existing gold plates. However, he changed his stance a month later after consulting with Potty, and recommended electroplating instead. The court also noted that the board had violated its manual, which requires that such repair works be carried out at the temple itself. Additionally, when the TDB handed over the items to Potty for transport to Chennai, the vigilance officer was not present. Who is Unnikrishnan Potty? Of great concern to the court has been the role played by the self-styled sponsor, Unnikrishnan Potty. The court observed that Potty is “a person with questionable antecedents,’’ and enjoyed a questionable degree of influence with the TDB. A native of Srirampuram in Bengaluru, Potty worked as an assistant to the temple priest at Sabarimala and helped arrange darshan for VIPs from South India, including businessmen and celebrities. His patronage with the TDB continued long after his removal from Sabarimala, with him sponsoring various works at the temple. He also allegedly used his access to befriend high-profile politicians and bureaucrats, including senior police officials. Potty also claimed that a missing set of dwarapalaka idols was stored in the temple’s strong room, which the chief vigilance and security officer could not locate. They were later seized from the house of Potty's sister in Thiruvananthapuram. Following reports of his participation in a pooja organised by Potty in Chennai in July 2019, actor Jayaram on Saturday said that he had attended the event at Potty’s invitation.
