India, Nov. 11 -- The High Court in Kerala has asked the state government and the Travancore Devaswom Board to finish sanctioning prosecution in the Sabarimala gold theft case quickly, so that the Special Investigation Team can file its chargesheet and the trial can start.

A Division Bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar, which has been overseeing the probe, said the sanction exercise must be speeded up so that the trial does not slip further. The case concerns gold allegedly removed from the panelling on the doorframe of the sanctum sanctorum.

Thirteen people are arraigned as accused, among them former members of the governing body of the Travancore Devaswom Board, Board officials and Unnikrishnan Potty, described as...