Kochi, Jan 12 : The Kerala High Court on Monday issued a scathing rebuke of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) handling the Sabarimala gold theft case over its failure to arrest accused K.P. Sankaradas.

The bench noted that Sankaradas, a former member of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), has been hospitalised since being named as an accused and that his son, a top police official, accompanied him to the hospital, questioning the legitimacy of the reasons given for his non-arrest.

The criticism came while the court was hearing the bail pleas of three accused â?? gold trader Govardhan, former Devaswom Board President A. Padmakumar, and Murari Babu. It adjourned the hearing to deliver its judgment at a later date.

Expressing its displeasure at the SITâ??s conduct, the court asked how such irregularities could occur in the state and declared it could not accept the actions of the investigation officers or the SIT.

The court also took a critical view of the role of sponsors linked to the Sabarimala temple administration.

It remarked that the investigation seemed aimed at "catching a big fish by using a small bait," highlighting the perceived flaws in the SITâ??s approach.

It reiterated that Padmakumar cannot evade responsibility for his actions.

Questioning the boardâ??s relevance, the court asked why it exists if all matters could have been handled by a single person, Unnikrishnan Potti.

Incidentally, Potti is the first accused in the case, and along with him, 11 others are in jail.

.Sankaradas, along with Padmakumar and N.Vijayakumar, were the board members when this heist took place, and the last two, both top CPI-M leaders, are in jail, the former is in a hospital here.

In his bail plea, accused Govardhan claimed responsibility for applying gold to the Sreekovil doors at Sabarimala, stating that the work cost Rs 35 lakh.

/IANS