Kerala HC slams SIT over delay in Sabarimala gold heist case, warns of credibility loss

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft cases, expressing serious concern over the delays in filing charge sheets that have enabled key accused to walk free on statutory bail.

So far, 13 people have so far been arrested in the two charge sheets filed by the SIT, and one person has now secured statutory bail.

A bench of Justice A. Badaruddin warned that such lapses erode public confidence in the investigation and raise doubts about the seriousness of the probe.

Observing that accused persons gaining release due to the failure to file charge sheets within the statutory time frame creates widespread suspicion, the court questioned why the SIT had failed to take timely and effective steps to prevent the situation.

“When accused are released by default, it inevitably casts a shadow over the credibility of the investigation,” the judge noted.

The court pointed out that Murari Babu, former administrative officer of the Devaswom Board and an accused in both the Dwarapalaka and Kattilappala cases, had already secured statutory bail earlier.

It also flagged that Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in both cases, had obtained bail in the Dwarapalaka case and would become eligible for statutory bail in the Kattilappala case as the 90-day period was set to expire on February 2.

The observations were made while considering a plea filed by accused and Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari seeking his release.

Bhandari contended that he had given statements six times even before being arrayed as an accused and had fully cooperated with the investigation, arguing that his arrest was unnecessary.

However, the court made it clear that the arrest in the case was unavoidable.

At the same time, it stressed that arrested persons must be granted all legal protections, including statutory bail, in accordance with Supreme Court rulings.

Responding to the court’s concerns, the SIT submitted that several procedural and evidentiary hurdles had delayed the preparation of the charge sheet.

It said documents had been seized from Devaswom Board offices and other locations, while key scientific evidence required to conclusively establish the offences was still awaited.

The SIT maintained that even if the accused were released on bail, the investigation remained focused on securing convictions and ensuring that those responsible were ultimately brought to justice.

The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday witnessed exchanges between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan on this issue, with two opposition legislators sitting in front of the Assembly in protest, alleging the involvement of the former, who is intervening in this case on the sly.

IANS