Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 5 -- A Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday granted statutory bail to Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, after the 90-day statutory period for filing the charge sheet expired.

The bail was granted under Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, as the Crime Branch failed to submit the final report within the prescribed time. Potti was arrested on November 3, 2025, and had remained in judicial custody for over 90 days.

In its order, the court observed that the right to default bail under Section 167(2) is absolute and cannot be denied based on the gravity of the offence. The court cited the Supreme Court judgment in Hitendra Vishnu Th...