Kerala HC flags irregularities in repair of Sabarimala Sreekovil door

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday pointed to serious irregularities in the repair and gold-plating of the Sreekovil’s main door at Sabarimala, noting that the process had been handled with little oversight and that the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, was given near-complete control over the work.

After examining a report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in a sealed cover, the court said it had found major inconsistencies in how the repair was conducted. Records indicated that Potti was granted official permission in 2019 to carry out the work.

Following this approval, Potti reportedly hired a carpenter named Nandan, who was brought to Sannidhanam to take measurements of the temple’s main door. Because his visit coincided with the opening of the Nada, the Keezhsanthis (sub-priests) removed the doors temporarily for measurement and reinstalled them soon after.

The court noted that the doors could be easily removed due to their inverted lock design, allowing this process to occur with minimal interference, TNIE reported.

The investigation further found that Nandan procured teakwood from Thrissur and took it to the Sree Rampuram Ayyappa Temple in Bengaluru, where the new door was crafted. The door was then brought back to Sannidhanam through Thrissur to test its fitting. After confirming that it matched, the door was sent to Hyderabad for copper plating, returned once more for fitting checks, and finally transported to Chennai for gold plating.

While the door was in Potti’s possession, a ceremonial event was reportedly held at the Elampally Temple in Kottayam, attended by an actor, the then Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president, and other officials.

The court observed that, according to established procedure and the temple manual, any repairs to the main door should have been supervised by the Maramath Department (maintenance). Instead, Potti was allowed to operate independently, raising serious concerns.

The original Sreekovil door and its decorative panel were earlier covered with 2,519.760 grams of 24-carat gold in 1998–1999. Following a vigilance probe ordered by the court, the old doors were later discovered lying exposed near the Ashtabhishekam counter and were subsequently moved to the strongroom for safekeeping.

The High Court stressed the need to verify whether the doors currently seized by the SIT are the same gold-clad originals installed in 1998–1999, or whether TDB officials allowed Potti to remove the original door and replace it with the one he brought, plated with only 324.400 grams of gold.

It also flagged serious lapses in record-keeping, noting that the TDB Minutes Book had been updated only up to July 28, and even those entries were irregular. The court expressed alarm that a Board order dated September 2, 2025 — which granted permission for repairs and gold plating of the Dwarapalakas at Smart Creations in Chennai had no mention whatsoever in the official records.