Who is Unnikrishnan Potty, the former Sabarimala priest at the centre of gold-pl ...
In recent years, court verdicts, government actions, and political manoeuvring have sparked multiple controversies around the Sabarimala pilgrimage centre. Now, a fresh dispute has emerged over the temple’s governance, with Bengaluru-based Malayali “sponsor” Unnikrishnan Potty, a former junior priest at Sabarimala, at the centre of the storm.In early September, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, abruptly decided to remove the gold-plated copper sheets from the 18th-century Dwarapalaka (gatekeeper) idols flanking the sanctum sanctorum. The plates were handed over to “sponsor” Potty for transport to Smart Creations, a jewellery firm in Chennai, for re-plating—without prior approval or intimation to the Sabarimala Special Commissioner or the Kerala High Court. This violated established protocols for handling temple valuables.
The Special Commissioner submitted a report to the High Court highlighting the unauthorised removal and transport of the plates. Acting on this, a Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and K.V. Jayakumar took suo motu cognizance under a standing petition monitoring Sabarimala affairs. The Bench expressed “strong concern” over the TDB’s negligence, ordered an immediate halt to the repairs, and directed that the plates be returned to Sabarimala. The court also impleaded Potty and the Chennai-based firm as respondents and demanded all related documents from the TDB. Notably, the controversy first ignited as the state government and the TDB were preparing for the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, a government-sponsored event that was presented as a conclave on development and governance of the Sabarimala pilgrimage centre.
The Dwarapalaka idols and pedestals were reportedly gold-plated in 1999 using portions of 30.3kg of gold and 1,900kg of copper donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya. According to the TDB Sub-Group Manual, repair work on these idols was to be carried out at Sabarimala itself. However, in 2019, the plates were once again handed over to Potty for re-plating.
At that time, Potty had spearheaded donation drives for the gold-plating project from his base in Bengaluru, organising fundraising programmes across multiple states. However, the 2019 mahazars (inventories) listed the items merely as “copper plates”, omitting mention of the gold cladding. During the recent court proceedings, these documents resurfaced, revealing that the plates weighed 42.8kg in 2019 (including gold cladding) but, upon return, showed a shortfall of 4.54kg in gold—raising suspicions of misappropriation.
The controversy deepened when a missing gold-plated pedestal from one of the Dwarapalaka idols was recovered by the TDB’s Vigilance wing from the residence of Potty’s relative. The pedestal, part of the temple’s historical artefacts, had been reported “missing” by Potty himself in late September 2025, sparking outrage and allegations of theft from TDB custody.
Potty hails from Pulimath near Kilimanoor. Before working at Sabarimala, he assisted his father at the Pulimath Devi Temple and later served as a junior priest at several temples, including the Sriramapura Ayyappa Temple in Bengaluru. Once at Sabarimala, he built considerable influence among devotees, particularly in Bengaluru, by arranging darshan and other facilities for wealthy patrons. Offerings and contributions from devotees in other states also allegedly began to flow through him.
Potty’s financial and land dealings have now come under the scanner. Reports suggest he purchased and acquired large tracts of land, sometimes through moneylending at usurious rates. Allegations have also surfaced of his close connections with political leaders. He had allegedly used photographs with senior politicians to build his profile.
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As the controversy deepened, advocate K.B. Pradeep, representing Smart Creations, stated that the Dwarapalaka plate sent to the Chennai-based company in 2019 was not gold-plated, but entirely made of copper. He added that the plate had been brought to Smart Creations by people associated with Potty.
Potty later reportedly claimed that the material he had received from Sabarimala for gold-plating was copper, raising more suspicions about the handling of the plate by TDB officials as well.
The TDB Vigilance wing is scheduled to interrogate Potty on October 4, at its office in Thiruvananthapuram. Potty has maintained his innocence and pledged to cooperate fully. Meanwhile, the controversy has taken on a political dimension, with the opposition demanding a CBI probe into alleged lapses under successive LDF governments. The ruling front has hit back, with Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan publicly accusing Potty of orchestrating a “conspiracy” to exploit devotees and malign the TDB. The government also alleges that the opposition is using the controversy to overshadow the trust and recognition the administration earned from Ayyappa devotees after conducting the Global Ayyappa Sangamam.
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