After the gold theft at Sabarimala temple, the ghee scam has been reported. The Kerala High Court has ordered a vigilance probe.

News Topical, Digital Desk: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday delivered a significant verdict on the alleged irregularities in the sale of "Aadiya Sishtam Ghee" at the Sabarimala temple. The court ordered a vigilance investigation, which revealed irregularities worth millions of rupees.

A bench of Justices V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and K. V. Jayakumar made this decision based on the report of the Sabarimala Special Commissioner. The report detailed misappropriation of funds from the sale of ghee, and the court, taking this as a serious matter, approved the demand for an investigation.

The court noted that approximately ₹3.5 million (approximately ₹3.5 million) was embezzled between November 17, 2025, and December 26, 2026, and December 27, 2025, and January 2, 2026. The Vigilance Director was directed to form a team of qualified officers and register a crime based on a report from the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

What is the deadline for the investigation?

The vigilance team must submit a progress report within a month. The court also stated that the final report cannot be filed in the jurisdictional court without the court's permission.

An inspection by the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer on December 14, 2025, revealed that the sale proceeds of 16,628 packets of ghee sold from the Maramath Building counter were not deposited in the TDB account.

What is the system for packing ghee?

The ghee is stored in a 700-liter steel tank and motorized into 100-ml packets. The contractor must fill exactly 100 ml of ghee into each packet, which is then sold to devotees for 100 rupees.

From November 17, 2025, to December 26, 2026, the contractor packed 352,050 packets, which were handed over to the Temple Special Officer. Of these, 89,300 packets were sold from the Maramath Building counter, but employees collected money for only 75,450 packets.

This resulted in the disappearance of ₹13.68 lakh from the sale of 13,679 packets. The TDB informed the court that Devaswom employee Sunil Kumar Potti did not issue receipts for the sale of ghee. The sales proceeds totaling ₹68,200 from November 24, 2025, to November 30, 2025, were not deposited.

The money was deposited with a delay of 17 days after receiving the instructions. The TDB has suspended Sunil Kumar Potti and has proposed further disciplinary action against him.

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