Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday orally observed that it is not inclined to cancel the bail granted to tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, an accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.

Justice A  Badharudeen made the observation while considering a plea filed by the state government seeking cancellation of his bail. “I am not also inclined to cancel the bail,” the court orally remarked during the hearing.

The High Court had earlier stayed the observations made by the Special Court against the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Sabarimala gold theft case.

Rajeevaru was arrested by the SIT on January 9, 2026. He was initially apprehended in connection with alleged gold theft from door frames and later arrested again in a second case while in judicial custody. He was released on bail after spending around 54 days in custody. Bail was granted by the Court of the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Kollam.

In the order granting bail in two cases, the Special Court had observed that there was not even an iota of evidence from the SIT to establish any positive involvement of the tantri in the alleged irregularities. It also said the SIT’s case on criminal conspiracy failed, noting that the tantri had not signed the crucial mahazars dated July 20, 2019, and May 18, 2019. The court observed that if there had been a conspiracy as alleged, he would have been a signatory to both mahazars.

It further stated that the mere signing of the first mahazar dated July 19, 2019, by itself, in the absence of other incriminating circumstances, was not sufficient to implicate him at this stage, especially since the mahazar was prepared pursuant to a formal decision of the Travancore Devaswom Board.

The court also observed that the tantri cannot sit in judgment over the formal decisions of the Travancore Devaswom Board to hand over Sabarimala temple artefacts for repair to Unnikrishnan Potty, the first accused in the case.

According to the allegations, Rajeevaru was the chief priest of the Sabarimala temple at the time of the incident and had ultimate authority over matters related to rituals and the temple’s religious sanctity.

The prosecution alleged that on June 18, 2019, he submitted a typed opinion agreeing to a proposal by the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, to re-plate gold-clad idols. This opinion reportedly formed the basis for the Travancore Devaswom Board’s decision to hand over the gold-clad items.