A revered Hindu temple in southern India has been plunged into controversy after the Kerala High Court revealed evidence that some of its gold-plated idols had been stripped of their precious covering.
The Sabarimala temple in Kerala — dedicated to Lord Ayyappa and visited by millions of devotees every year — is now at the centre of a sensational gold theft investigation that has shaken one of India’s most famous shrines.
The High Court has appointed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the disappearance of gold from temple idols. Police have arrested three people so far, including a former assistant priest. The court, which has been monitoring the inquiry since September, is scheduled to hold its next hearing on Wednesday.
A shrine under scrutiny
Sabarimala, perched atop the forested hills of Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, is one of Hinduism’s most visited pilgrimage centres. The temple gained international attention in 2018 after the Supreme Court ruled that women of menstruating age could no longer be barred from entering — a decision later put on hold after widespread protests.
Now, Sabarimala is back in the headlines for a very different reason.
At the heart of the current investigation are two Dwarapalaka idols, or temple door guards, stationed outside the sanctum sanctorum. A report by the court-appointed Sabarimala Special Commissioner found that these idols had lost much of their gold plating — prompting the High Court to intervene.
A trail of missing gold
Court documents reveal that the idols and other temple structures were originally covered with over 30kg of gold in 1998–99, donated by disgraced businessman Vijay Mallya. The gold was used to adorn the idols, pillars, and ornate door panels depicting scenes from Lord Ayyappa’s life.
In 2019, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) — which manages the temple — permitted Unnikrishnan Potty, then an assistant priest, to remove the idols for fresh gold plating. Such work is normally conducted within the temple premises, making this decision highly unusual.
When the idols were returned two months later, they were not weighed — a lapse that has now proven costly. Later assessments revealed that they were significantly lighter, and the SIT estimates that around 4.54kg of gold has vanished since the 2019 refurbishment.
The judges described the findings as “a heist and plundering of gold from Lord Ayyappa’s sacred treasures.”
Court criticism and deeper questions
The High Court has sharply criticised the TDB for serious procedural lapses, including recording gold-clad items as “copper plates” and allowing Potty to retain nearly 475g of gold after repairs — a decision the judges called “deeply improper.”
The court also cited an email in which Potty sought permission to use the leftover gold for a girl’s marriage, calling it “deeply disturbing” and emblematic of the rot within temple management.
The ongoing investigation aims to determine how such large-scale misappropriation could occur within one of India’s most tightly regulated religious institutions. For many devotees, the revelations are both shocking and heartbreaking — a reminder that even sacred spaces are not immune to greed and corruption.
