Sabarimala gold loss: Accused ‘jointly looted’ Lord Ayyappa’s property, says Kerala HC

Key Highlights

• It further said that the antique value of the gold misappropriated cannot be quantified in terms of money and for that reason, the crimes “have an independent identity” which is separate from ordinary offences where grant of bail is recognised as a rule.
• “Thus, these crimes are definitely crimes which would fall under the category of exception.
• In such a case, premature release of Govardhan would definitely impede the investigation of these crimes.
• “In such a view of the matter, the bail plea, at the instance of Govardhan, at this stage could not be considered and therefore, his bail application must fail,” the court said in its 119-page order dismissing the pleas.
• It further said that if Padmakumar was released on bail, then the investigating officer would not be able to jointly question all the arrested former TDB members, including N Vijayakumar and K P Sankara Das.