The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by the CEO of Chennai-based Smart Creations. The company had undertaken gold plating of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols of Sabarimala. The petition challenged his arrest in the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
Justice A Badharudeen rejected the petition of Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari. He had argued that his arrest was illegal as mandatory procedures were not followed. He claimed he was not properly informed about the arrest or the grounds for it.
The prosecution opposed the petition. It told the court that all mandatory procedures were followed and described Bhandari’s claims as baseless.
While rejecting the plea, the High Court said the only lapse noticed was that the arresting officer did not produce Bhandari before the special vigilance court in Kollam within the expected time.
The court noted that there was a delay in producing him before the special court. This delay occurred due to the time taken for his medical examination and the 71-km travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam.
“I do not think that this alone is a reason to declare the arrest illegal. Therefore, the prayer in the plea to declare the arrest as illegal cannot be granted. Thus, in the instant case, the non-compliance argued by the senior counsel for the petitioner (Bhandari) is not found sufficient to declare the arrest as illegal, and in consequence thereof, this petition would necessarily fail. In the result, this Writ Petition (Criminal) is dismissed," Justice Badharudeen further added.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is investigating the alleged gold misappropriation from the Dwarapalaka idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), claimed that Bhandari and Ballari-based jeweller Govardhan Roddam played key roles in the conspiracy to steal gold from the Sabarimala temple artefacts.
According to the SIT, Bhandari and Roddam, along with first accused Unnikrishnan Potty, had planned the theft of gold entrusted to them for electroplating work.
Also read: ED quizzes ex-TDB officer in Sabarimala gold loss case
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