Kerala High Court Cracks Down on Sabarimala Ghee Scandal: 'Petty Shop' Accounting No More

In a scathing indictment of administrative negligence at one of India's most revered pilgrimage sites, the Kerala High Court has ordered sweeping reforms in the sale of sacred prasadams at Sabarimala temple. A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar , acting on a suo motu petition triggered by a Special Commissioner's report, exposed deep-rooted flaws in handling "Adiya Sishtam Neyy" (ghee from devotees' offerings). The court extended a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) probe into alleged misappropriation involving 33 accused, while directing the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to overhaul its opaque systems.

From Devotee Offerings to Missing Lakhs: The Ghee Trail Unravels

The controversy erupted from a report by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner highlighting misappropriation at the Ghee Sale Counter during the 2025 Mandala-Makaravilakku season. Devotees donate ghee stored in tanks, pumped to a packing unit, portioned into 100ml pouches by a contractor (paid ₹0.20 per packet), and distributed to four counters via Temple Special Officers. What followed was a cascade of lapses: no physical verifications, issuance logged in rudimentary "school-series notebooks" full of overwritings, single staff handling cash and stock amid shift dilutions, and no handover protocols.

Audit revelations were damning—a ₹21,39,190 short remittance in ghee sales alone. On January 13, 2026, the court tasked VACB with a probe, leading to Vigilance Case No. VC 02/2026/PTA under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended 2018), and Sections 316(5), 314, 61(2), 3(5), 344 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Thirty-three individuals, including officers and counter staff, stand accused. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has seized call records, bank statements, and probed supply chains, seeking more time amid ongoing forensic needs.

No Traditional Arguments, But a Wake-Up Call in Suo Motu Scrutiny

As a suo motu proceeding (SSCR No. 3/2026), there were no adversarial arguments. Instead, the court scrutinized the SIT's progress report and prior Special Commissioner findings. TDB officials appeared in person, detailing investigations but requesting a three-month extension. The bench, exercising parens patriae jurisdiction to protect devotee interests, rejected leniency, capping the probe at 45 days while lambasting systemic rot. No precedents were cited, but the ruling invokes fiduciary duties over sacred offerings, equating poor oversight to enabling pilferage.

'Wholly Unacceptable': Court's Razor-Sharp Dissection of Failures

The bench didn't mince words on procedural horrors: ghee sacks delivered by daily wagers without checks, inexperienced staff (some with just a week's service) manning high-cash counters, ticket swaps bypassing accountability, and notebooks akin to "a modest petty shop" ledger—spanning weeks yet barely using 20 pages amid corrections.

Key Observations

"Even a person running a modest petty shop would be expected to maintain far better accounting discipline to ensure that income and stock are properly reconciled. The situation revealed before us is, therefore, wholly unacceptable."

"These are not isolated irregularities but point to systemic deficiencies in procedure, supervision, stock accounting, and financial control."

"The materials placed before this Court... disclose several disturbing and disquieting features."

These prima facie findings, echoed in media reports of the audit shortfall, underscore not mere errors but a "callous and casual" culture demanding urgent fix.

Overhaul Mandated: A Blueprint for Sacred Commerce

The court's February 18, 2026 order is transformative. TDB must devise an end-to-end standardized framework for all prasadams—Appam, Aravana, Ghee, Vibhoothi, Kumkum—covering: - Daily/seasonal offering quantification - Raw material procurement and accounting - Manufacturing supervision and quality control - Storage, transport, counter distribution - Ticketing, cash/digital handling - Reconciliation and remittance

Professional expertise is urged, given TDB's admitted gaps. A detailed action plan with timelines is due by February 27, 2026. Implications are profound: fortified revenues (lakhs daily) for temple upkeep, restored devotee trust, and a model for other devaswoms. Future seasons could see digital ledgers replacing notebooks, curbing corruption at its source and setting a precedent for judicial intervention in religious economies.

This ruling reaffirms courts as guardians of public faith, ensuring offerings in reverence aren't lost to mismanagement.