Kochi, The Kerala High Court has granted the Vigilance Bureau an additional 30 days to conclude its investigation into the alleged misappropriation of funds by TDB employees in connection with the sale of ‘Adiya Sishtam Ghee’, a holy offering sold to devotees at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar granted the additional time after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau informed it that nine other Travancore Devaswom employees were suspected of involvement in the scam and their roles should be investigated.
The office had initially registered an FIR against 33 people in connection with alleged misappropriation of funds from the sale of ‘ghee’.
The VACB also told the court that negligent and improper maintenance of records by the TDB had greatly hampered the progress of the investigation, making it difficult to complete it within the stipulated time.
After taking note of the submissions made by the investigating agency, the court said it was satisfied that the additional time request was justified.
“Accordingly, an additional period of 30 days has been granted to conclude the investigation. We direct the office to seek permission from this court before submitting the final report,” the bench said.
It also directed the VACB to conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation, clearly identify and define the role of each individual concerned, and proceed in accordance with the law so that appropriate action can be taken without delay.
The court had in January ordered the VACB to register a case and form a team of “honest and competent officers” to investigate it.
These orders came in a suo motu petition filed by the court following a report by the TDB’s chief vigilance and security officer indicating that the proceeds from the sale of 16,628 packets of ghee sold at the shrine were not transferred to the Devaswom account.
Besides, the report also revealed that there was a shortage of 22,565 packets of ghee during the period from December 27, 2025 to January 2, 2026, resulting in a revenue loss of $22,65,500 to Devaswom.
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