Sabarimala gold: SIT files first report in Kerala HC in sealed cover
Kochi(PTI): The SIT probing the loss of gold from Sabarimala on Tuesday filed its first report in the Kerala High Court in a sealed cover, sources said.
The report was submitted before a bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar in in-camera proceedings, in the absence of lawyers, court sources added.
Police officials said the report will detail the current status of the Special Investigation Team’s probe into the gold loss.
The High Court, while assigning the case to the SIT, had directed the team to file a progress report within two weeks and set a six-week deadline to complete the investigation.
The SIT was constituted after a court-initiated plea revealed the loss of the gold.
The plea arose when the bench was informed that the gold-plated copper claddings of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols in Sabarimala had been removed for repair and renovation without notifying the court.
Subsequently, a vigilance report highlighted lapses by Devaswom officials in connection with the gold loss, prompting the court to direct the SIT to register a criminal case and initiate a probe.
Following this, the SIT registered two cases related to missing gold from the plates of the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frame, arraigning 10 people, including Bengaluru-based Unnikrishnan Potty and some Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, as accused.
Potty, who had sponsored the electroplating of the gold-clad copper plates on the Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil door frames in 2019, was later arrested.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
