Kochi
In a significant development, the Kerala High Court on Thursday closed the corruption and irregularities case related to the reconstruction of the golden flag mast at Sabarimala, bringing an end to a controversy that had triggered intense political and public debate.
The court accepted, in full, the quick verification report submitted by the Vigilance department and ruled that no further proceedings were required.
Endorsing the Vigilance findings, the court observed that there was no material evidence to substantiate allegations of corruption in the flag mast reconstruction carried out during the Congress-led UDF government’s tenure.
It concluded that no criminal case could be registered based on the available records, effectively giving a clean chit to the then Travancore Devaswom Board.
The Vigilance report underscored complete transparency in the handling of gold received for the project. A total of 412 grams of gold had been donated by devotees and well-wishers for the reconstruction.
The investigation found that the entire quantity was properly accounted for and utilised for the making of the Vaji Vahanam and the Ashtadikpalakas, with no discrepancy in weight or usage.
Statements were recorded from 23 individuals, including prominent contributors, and were found to be fully consistent with the official records maintained by the Devaswom Board.
In total, 27 donors, including noted film personalities such as Mohanlal, Ranjith Panicker, Priyadarshan, Shaji Kailas and Suresh Gopi, had contributed gold for the reconstruction. The Vigilance informed the court that details of four donors could not be traced, but this did not affect the overall accounting.
According to the report, the donated gold was received by ASP Kurup and official receipts were issued by the Devaswom authorities, further reinforcing the integrity of the process. The court was satisfied that there was no evidence of document tampering or misappropriation.