Amid the ongoing case of theft worth crores and crores of rupees in the donation of the Ram Mandir temple at Ayodhya, the controversy over alleged "fake silver" offerings at the most revered cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi at Katra in Jammu and Kashmir took an interesting turn on Monday when a court in Jammu directed the inquiry officer to submit a status report.
In the alleged over Rs 500-crore "fake silver" offerings controversy concerning the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji Shrine at Katra, the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, presided over by Munish Kumar Manhas, on Monday directed the inquiry officer of the Crime Branch to appear personally before the court along with the relevant records of the matter on the next date of hearing, fixed for July 29, 2026.
The direction was passed in proceedings arising from an application filed by Advocate Deepak Sharma, who had earlier submitted a detailed complaint before the Inspector General of Police, Crime Branch, Jammu, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, Economic Offences Wing, Jammu, seeking registration of an FIR and a comprehensive investigation into the alleged adulteration, substitution, and possible misappropriation of silver offerings made by devotees at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji Shrine.
The complaint, submitted on May 9, 2026, alleged the commission of serious cognisable offences, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, manipulation of records, and the possible procurement or use of cadmium-laden material.
As no effective action was disclosed by the Crime Branch, the complainant approached the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, seeking an action-taken report and appropriate directions for the registration of an FIR and investigation into the case.
Pursuant to the court's directions, the Crime Branch filed a status report stating that the complaint had initially been forwarded to the Crime Headquarters, Srinagar, for approval and, upon receiving such approval, was subsequently forwarded to the Zonal Police Headquarters, Jammu, for "appropriate action".
Advocate Deepak Sharma on Monday filed detailed objections to the status report and argued that the mere administrative forwarding of the complaint could not amount to lawful action on information disclosing cognisable offences. He submitted that the Crime Branch, Economic Offences Wing, Jammu, is itself a notified police station under the relevant home department notification, with its superintendent of police functioning as the station house officer.
He further argued that the Crime Branch was statutorily required to deal with the complaint in accordance with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and could not avoid its legal responsibility merely by forwarding the complaint to another police authority.
The objections also pointed out that the status report did not disclose any steps taken to preserve crucial evidence, including inventory registers, stock records, CCTV footage, dispatch and transportation documents, assay reports, Mint correspondence, electronic records, and documents relating to the receipt, storage, transportation, testing, and melting of the offerings.
After hearing the arguments, the court directed the Crime Branch Inquiry Officer handling the matter to remain personally present before it along with the relevant records on July 29, 2026.
Background of the Complaint
The controversy arose from reports that approximately 20 tonnes of accumulated silver offerings, stated to be worth around Rs 550 crore, had been sent for testing, melting, and processing. However, only about five to six per cent of the material was reportedly found to be actual silver, while the remaining material was allegedly "fake" and consisted of cadmium, iron, and other inferior metals.
The complaint seeks an investigation into whether devotees had been sold fake or adulterated silver articles by vendors and jewellers, or whether genuine silver offerings had been substituted, diluted, pilfered, or misappropriated at any stage after their receipt, including during inventory, weighing, storage, transportation, assaying, or melting.
It also seeks an investigation into the source, manufacture, procurement, and supply chain of the alleged cadmium-laden material, as well as the fixing of responsibility on all persons, officials, custodians, vendors, suppliers, handlers, or transporters found to be involved.
