Sabarimala gold case: Kerala HC junks Pankaj Bhandari’s plea against arrest

Kochi: High court has dismissed the petition filed by Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creations, Chennai, and an accused in the Sabarimala gold heist case, challenging his arrest in the case, alleging that it violated his fundamental rights and was in contravention of the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court.Justice A Badharudeen dismissed the petition, observing that there were no sufficient grounds to declare Bhandari's arrest illegal. Bhandari was arrested in connection with the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala, on Dec 19. The gold plating of the gold-clad copper coverings of the dwarapalaka idols, the door frames of the sreekovil and other structures had been carried out at his firm, Smart Creations. According to prosecution, he stripped the gold coating from the plates and misappropriated it along with other accused persons, thereby causing pecuniary loss to Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).Bhandari challenged his arrest on several grounds. He alleged that the arrest was not duly communicated to his friends, relatives or other concerned persons, and that the notice issued to him after his arrest did not disclose the grounds of arrest. He further claimed that he was denied legal assistance to challenge the alleged illegal arrest before being produced before the special judge at Kollam. He also contended that, during remand hearing, he was not provided with a copy of the remand report. Although a copy was furnished a day after his remand, it was in Malayalam, a language he does not understand.However, HC noted that the arrest was duly informed to S Rajasekharan, who had accompanied him to the vigilance office on the date of arrest. The court further observed that the notices issued to him contained specific allegations in both cases, enabling him to understand the charges and prepare his defence. Since the grounds of arrest had already been communicated to him in English, a language known to him, HC held that supplying the remand report again for the same purpose was not necessary.The court also noted that Bhandari's arrest had been duly informed to his counsel by the arresting officer. Although the accused was produced before court two hours later than the time communicated to his advocate, the delay was attributed to the time taken for medical examination and travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam (approximately 71km). HC concluded that this delay alone was not sufficient to declare the arrest illegal and, accordingly, dismissed the petition.