"Name Five Cases CBI Investigated Well": Kerala High Court Grills Petitioners In Sabarimala Gold Theft Case

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday raised serious questions on the demand to hand over the Sabarimala gold theft case to the CBI, while hearing petitions filed by BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, among others.

The Devaswom Bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar asked the petitioners to clarify why they were insisting on a CBI probe. The court questioned in which recent cases the CBI had conducted exemplary investigations and whether the petitioners could produce details of five such cases. The judges also reminded them that any request for a central agency probe must be based on sound legal grounds.

The petitioners argued that the Special Investigation Team probe was not progressing properly and claimed that only a CBI investigation would ensure a fair and politically neutral inquiry. However, the court made it clear that the SIT investigation is taking place under the direct supervision of the High Court. The bench said the progress of the probe is being closely monitored and there was no basis at this stage to suggest otherwise.

In a related development, the High Court dismissed a petition filed by M.R. Ajayan seeking to become a party in the case demanding a CBI probe. The court found the plea not maintainable. Earlier, the same petitioner had been fined 40,000 rupees after his counsel failed to appear before the vacation bench despite getting four cases listed as urgent.