Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ordered an inquiry into the originality and quality of the gold used in the Ezharaponnana, a sacred set of eight golden elephant statuettes at the Ettumannur Mahadeva Temple in Kottayam.
A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar issued the direction while hearing a suo motu case. The court asked the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to conduct an independent inquiry and submit a report.
Complaint Led to Court Action
The case began after devotee A.G. Prasad Kumar filed a complaint with the Travancore Devaswom Board. He alleged that workers removed the original gold plates during recent repair and renovation work. According to the complaint, they replaced the gold with copper or other low-value metals.
Following the complaint, the High Court took up the matter on its own and sought a report from the TDB.
TDB Finds No Evidence
The Travancore Devaswom Board submitted reports from the Administrative Officer and the Assistant Devaswom Commissioner. The officials said they inspected temple records and found no evidence of repair work or misappropriation involving the Ezharaponnana. However, the High Court decided that an independent verification was necessary to remove all doubts.
Vigilance Wing to Verify Gold
The court directed the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer to inspect the temple registers and examine the Ezharaponnana. It also instructed the officer to take the help of a qualified goldsmith. The goldsmith will check the weight, purity and originality of the gold used in the sacred artefacts. The officer must submit a detailed report to the High Court after completing the investigation.
Sacred Temple Artefacts
The Ezharaponnana consists of eight sacred golden elephant statuettes, including seven large elephants and one small elephant. Temple authorities bring out these sacred artefacts only during the annual festival procession at Ettumannur Mahadeva Temple, making them one of the temple’s most treasured possessions.