Kochi, Jan 27 (NationPress) The Kerala High Court has recently criticized the Special Investigation Team (SIT) overseeing the Sabarimala gold theft case, voicing significant concerns regarding the prolonged delays in the submission of charge sheets. This situation has allowed several key accused individuals to obtain statutory bail and evade justice.

To date, the SIT has arrested 13 individuals related to the two charge sheets filed, with one person currently on statutory bail.

A bench led by Justice A. Badaruddin cautioned that such delays undermine public trust in the investigation and raise questions about the seriousness of the inquiry.

The court noted that the failure to file charge sheets in a timely manner has led to a situation where accused individuals are released, creating a cloud of suspicion around the integrity of the investigation. The judge inquired why the SIT had not taken appropriate and prompt actions to avoid this predicament.

“When individuals are freed by default, it casts a shadow over the credibility of the investigation,” the judge remarked.

The court drew attention to Murari Babu, a former administrative officer of the Devaswom Board, who is implicated in both the Dwarapalaka and Kattilappala cases and has already received statutory bail.

Additionally, it highlighted that Unnikrishnan Potti, the principal accused in both cases, had acquired bail in the Dwarapalaka case and would soon qualify for statutory bail in the Kattilappala case as the 90-day limit will conclude on February 2.

The remarks came while the court was reviewing a plea from accused Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creations, who sought his release. Bhandari argued that he had cooperated fully with the investigation, having provided statements six times before being named an accused, and claimed his arrest was unwarranted.

Nonetheless, the court affirmed that the arrest in this matter was necessary, emphasizing that individuals in custody must receive all legal protections, including statutory bail, per Supreme Court mandates.

In response to the court's worries, the SIT explained that various procedural and evidentiary challenges had contributed to the delay in charge sheet preparation. They stated that documents had been confiscated from Devaswom Board offices and other sites, while critical scientific evidence necessary to confirm the crimes remained pending.

The SIT insisted that even if some accused were released on bail, the investigation's focus would stay on securing convictions and ensuring that those responsible face justice.

In a related development, the Kerala Assembly saw exchanges between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan on this matter, with two opposition members staging a protest outside the Assembly, alleging that the former is covertly intervening in the case.