Overview

• The court constituted a Special Investigation Team supervised by ADGP H Venkatesh with IPS officer S. Sasidharan leading the inquiry under strict no‑media directions and an expedited timeline.
• Bench observations cite an unexplained 4.541 kg reduction when Dwarapalaka coverings returned from 2019 work, despite UB/McDowell records showing 1.564 kg of gold on the pair and 30.291 kg used for the 1998–99 project.
• An email from sponsor Unnikrishnan Potti seeking to use leftover temple gold for a girl's marriage was termed deeply disturbing, and the SIT will examine the roles of Potti and Travancore Devaswom Board officials.
• The Travancore Devaswom Board suspended Deputy Devaswom Commissioner B. Murari Babu for a 2019 report that labeled gold‑clad items as copper, a charge he denies.
• Kerala Assembly proceedings were disrupted for a second day as the opposition demanded the Devaswom minister's resignation and TDB’s dismissal, while the government said it welcomes the court‑monitored probe and inventory.