Congress Breathes Easy as Kerala HC Upholds Vigilance Clean Chit in Sabarimala Flag Post Controversy

KOCHI:
In a significant development, the Kerala High Court on Thursday closed the corruption and irregularities case related to the reconstruction of the golden flag mast at Sabarimala, bringing an end to a controversy that had triggered intense political and public debate.

The court accepted, in full, the quick verification report submitted by the Vigilance department and ruled that no further proceedings were required.

Endorsing the Vigilance findings, the court observed that there was no material evidence to substantiate allegations of corruption in the flag mast reconstruction carried out during the Congress-led UDF government’s tenure.

It concluded that no criminal case could be registered based on the available records, effectively giving a clean chit to the then Travancore Devaswom Board.

The Vigilance report underscored complete transparency in the handling of gold received for the project.

A total of 412 grams of gold had been donated by devotees and well-wishers for the reconstruction.

The investigation found that the entire quantity was properly accounted for and utilised for the making of the Vaji Vahanam and the Ashtadikpalakas, with no discrepancy in weight or usage.

Statements were recorded from 23 individuals, including prominent contributors, and were found to be fully consistent with the official records maintained by the Devaswom Board.

In total, 27 donors, including noted film personalities such as Mohanlal, Ranjith Panicker, Priyadarshan, Shaji Kailas and Suresh Gopi, had contributed gold for the reconstruction.

The Vigilance informed the court that details of four donors could not be traced, but this did not affect the overall accounting.

According to the report, the donated gold was received by ASP Kurup and official receipts were issued by the Devaswom authorities, further reinforcing the integrity of the process.

The court was satisfied that there was no evidence of document tampering or misappropriation.

The report also clarified that the decision to replace the flag mast was based on the directives of the 2014 Deva Prasnam, with the reinstallation completed in 2017 following prescribed ritual procedures.

The court noted that there was nothing suspicious in the process and that only customary practices had been followed.

However, the verdict has sharpened focus on a separate ongoing “gold smuggling” case linked to Sabarimala, where officials from the Left government period are under scrutiny for alleged diversion of gold from idols and temple structures.

The Special Investigation Team has informed the court that the final chargesheet in that case will be filed only after the Assembly elections, citing the need for scientific evidence.

With the High Court’s ruling now clearing the UDF era project, political attention is expected to shift to the pending case, even as both political circles and devotees closely watch the developments ahead.

Reacting to the clean chit, veteran Congress leader Ajay Tharayil, who was a board member at that time, said that right from the time this issue cropped up, he had made it clear that everything was done as per the rules and regulations and had nothing to worry.

“But with this issue surfacing, I lost an opportunity to contest the April Assembly polls,” he rued.