Overview
- A Kollam Vigilance Court granted statutory bail to Unnikrishnan Potty in the Sreekovil doorframe case after the SIT missed the 90‑day chargesheet deadline, leading to his release on Thursday.
- The order follows his earlier default bail in the Dwarapalaka idols case, with several other former Travancore Devaswom Board officials also released on statutory bail due to lapsed deadlines.
- Strict conditions were set, including a bond with solvent sureties, surrender of passport, a ban on entering Pathanamthitta district, and prohibitions on influencing witnesses or leaving Kerala without permission.
- The Kerala High Court said the SIT investigation is progressing in the right direction and declined a broad CBI handover, stressing that default bail will not allow offenders to escape accountability.
- The Enforcement Directorate expanded its money‑laundering inquiry by summoning Potty and actor Jayaram after freezing assets and seizing items, alleging gold was siphoned during 2019 replating at private firms.