Kochi, February 11 The Kerala High Court ordered the vigilance wing of the TDB to investigate alleged financial irregularities involving casual laborers and permanent staff employed at Sannidhanam during the recently concluded Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season at Sabarimala.
A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar issued the direction based on a report by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner, which revealed that over Rs 14 lakh was transferred through money orders from the post office alone during that period.
The investigation by the vigilance wing of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) also revealed that such remittances involved relatively substantial amounts transmitted within a short span of time, raising suspicions about the source and legitimacy of the funds, the court said.
"As part of the investigation, financial data was collected from the post offices and nearby banking institutions, including the State Bank of India, Sannidhanam Branch, and Dhanlaxmi Bank, Sannidhanam, with respect to amounts deposited for onward remittance from November 17, 2025 onwards," it said.
The vigilance wing said that it had asked the individuals making such remittances to appear before the competent authority, but they failed to comply, and therefore, a detailed and comprehensive investigation was required.
The TDB said its Executive Officer has been instructed to lodge a formal complaint with the Sannidhanam police station so that an exhaustive criminal investigation may be undertaken, including scrutiny of the bank accounts of casual as well as permanent employees deputed for duty at Sannidhanam.
It also told the court that directions have already been issued to collect details relating to all suspicious and dubious transactions and that a crime will be registered in accordance with law.
The bench, thereafter, directed the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (Superintendent of Police) of the TDB to "carry out a comprehensive investigation into all related aspects", including obtaining transactional and remittance details from the State Bank of India, Sannidhanam, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Sannidhanam, post offices and other financial institutions operating in and around the area.
It also directed the vigilance officer to obtain the database of all employees who were on duty at Sannidhanam during the relevant period, whether temporary, casual, or permanent, "so as to facilitate comprehensive scrutiny and to ascertain the full extent of any fraudulent activity or suspicious transfer of funds".
"A comprehensive report shall be placed before this court within a period of three weeks from today," the bench said and posted further hearing of the case to March 11.
