The Kerala High Court has confirmed through chemical analysis that gold items at the Sabarimala temple were systematically tampered with and substituted. Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre found evidence of a methodical process involving removal of original gold cladding from 1998. Eleven people have been arrested in the ongoing investigation into the misappropriation.
The Kerala High Court, in an interim order on January 20, 2026, stated that chemical analysis of gold-cladded sheets from the Sabarimala temple confirms a 'systematic and methodical' process of tampering and substitution. The bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar observed that the court's earlier apprehensions about misappropriation and pilferage of gold assets 'stand prima facie reinforced.'
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) collected samples from various gold plates on November 17 and 18, 2025, and sent them to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) for analysis. The tests aimed to determine the quantity of gold applied in 1998 during a donation by the UB Group, the gold used in 2019 replating, and whether original plates were replaced with substituted components. The VSSC report revealed key differences: original gold-clad plates lacked nickel and acrylic polymer layers but had mercury, while the 2019 copper plates showed nickel, acrylic polymers, no mercury, and varying thicknesses of gold and nickel layers.
The court noted, 'The absence of nickel and acrylic polymer layers in the original gold-clad plates, the presence of nickel, the absence of mercury and the presence of acrylic polymer layers in the subsequently plated copper plates together with the comparative thickness of gold and nickel layers clearly indicate a systematic and methodical process by which the alleged offence appears to have been executed.' These findings provide evidentiary pointers for linking transactions in 2024 and 2025 to potential criminal conspiracy.
The tampering allegedly occurred in 2019 when gold panelling was removed from the temple under the guise of renovation and replating. So far, 11 persons, including top officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board and political leaders, have been arrested in two related cases. The SIT indicated possible involvement of three more individuals in one case and two in the other. The court directed the SIT to record statements from VSSC experts and scheduled the next hearing for February 2.
'What initially appeared to be routine administrative actions... has, upon closer scrutiny, opened a Pandora’s box and revealed prima facie indicators of organised pilferage and misappropriation of sacred temple valuables,' the court stated, highlighting the alleged connivance of entrusted individuals.
