Kochi, Aug 5 The Kerala High Court on Wednesday constituted a six member SIT to probe the alleged irregularities in connection with procurement and supply of Milma ghee to Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising officers of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) shall be headed by its Superintendent of Police, M J Sojan.
Sojan is the same officer who is investigating the alleged criminal misappropriation of the proceeds of 'Adiya Sishtam Ghee' sold at the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
The court directed the team to conduct the investigation with "utmost diligence and vigour".
"The investigation shall cover all matters highlighted in the report submitted by the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer as well as every aspect specifically directed to be examined by this court in our order dated August 3, 2026," the bench said.
In its August 3 order, the bench had directed that the investigation team, after it is constituted, shall initiate steps to register a crime on the strength of the report submitted by the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer.
The court had also said that the team so constituted shall conduct a meticulous, coordinated, and effective investigation into the alleged irregularities disclosed in the report.
The bench had also directed the team not to disclose any details of the investigation to the public or the media and to file a report before the court within a period of one month indicating the progress of the investigation.
The state government had recently ordered a probe after it was alleged that the ghee supplied by State-run dairy cooperative Milma to Sabarimala during the 2025-26 pilgrimage season was of inferior quality and that there were irregularities in the quantity supplied.
