Sabarimala gold case: Kerala court grants statutory bail to former TDB president A. Padmakumar

A Vigilance court in Kollam on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) granted statutory bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A. Padmakumar in the case related to alleged misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols of the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala, sources said.

Mr. Padmakumar had already gotten statutory bail in the case related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at the temple, and therefore, he is likely to come out of jail by evening.

The former TDB president is the eighth accused in the matter to come out of jail on bail, the sources said.

Mr. Padmakumar is a former CPI(M) MLA and had served as TDB president when the decision was taken to hand over Sabarimala artefacts for replating to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti in 2019. He is the 11th accused in the Dwarapalaka gold loss case.

Both cases are being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Kerala High Court.