Sabarimala ghee scam: 33 persons arrayed as accused, vigilance tells Kerala HC

Kochi: The vigilance team conducting a probe into the alleged misappropriation of proceeds from the sale of ‘aadiya sishtam ghee' at Sabarimala Temple has informed high court that as many as 33 persons –– three temple special officers and 30 counter staff –– have been arrayed as accused in the crime.The team further stated that the misappropriation quantified so far amounts to Rs 21.39 lakh and sought an extension of three months to complete the investigation and determine the precise extent of the alleged misappropriation and conspiracy. However, the bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar directed the team to conclude the investigation within 45 days. The court was considering a suo motu case initiated on the basis of a report submitted by the Sabarimala special commissioner regarding the alleged misappropriation of money at the ghee sale counters. During hearing on Wednesday, HC flagged several shortcomings regarding the sale of sacred offerings at Sabarimala, including the absence of formal proceedings or authentic records detailing staff deployment at each counter. From the report submitted by the vigilance team, HC observed that the temple special officer issues ghee packets to counters after recording the quantities in a school-series notebook, colloquially referred to as a ‘kutti book'. Separate notebooks are maintained for each counter and kept in the temple office. These notebooks record the number of packets issued along with the signatures of the receiving counter staff. HC also noted that the notebooks contained multiple corrections, overwriting and interlineations.HC also observed that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and its officials are expected to exercise far greater oversight in matters that generate several lakhs of rupees daily by way of income. It further directed that TDB shall ensure that all income generated through the sale of prasadam items — including, but not limited to, appams, aadiya sishtam ghee, aravana, vibhoothi and kumkum — is brought under a fully accountable and transparent financial and administrative framework. HC also directed TDB to put in place a proper system for accounting, reconciliation and remittance of sale proceeds, if necessary, by seeking professional and technical assistance without delay.HC further directed TDB to place on record a detailed action plan indicating the manner in which the directions are proposed to be implemented, along with a clear and time-bound schedule for compliance. The court adjourned the matter to Feb 27.