A court in Jammu has directed an inquiry officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Crime Branch to appear before it in person with all records related to the alleged Rs 500-crore 'fake silver' offerings case at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in the Trikuta Hills near Katra. The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, presided over by Munish Kumar Manhas, ordered the officer to remain present on the next date of hearing, July 29, 2026, and produce the complete records related to the inquiry.
Complaint seeks FIR and detailed probe
The court was hearing 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. The complaint sought 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 Shrine.
Submitted on May 9, 2026, the complaint alleged the commission of several cognisable offences, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of offerings, manipulation of official records and the alleged procurement or use of cadmium-laden material.
Court approached after alleged inaction
After alleging that no effective action had been taken on the complaint, the petitioner moved the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court seeking an action-taken report and directions for registration of an FIR.
In response to the court's earlier order, the Crime Branch filed a status report stating that the complaint had first been forwarded to the Crime Headquarters in Srinagar for approval and, after obtaining clearance, had been sent to the Zonal Police Headquarters, Jammu, for "appropriate action."
Petitioner questions Crime Branch's response
Advocate Deepak Sharma objected to the status report, arguing that merely forwarding the complaint to another authority could not be treated as lawful action when the allegations disclosed cognisable offences.
According to the objections, the Crime Branch's Economic Offences Wing in Jammu is itself a notified police station under the relevant Home Department notification, with its Superintendent of Police functioning as the Station House Officer.
The petitioner argued that the agency was legally required to act in accordance with the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, and could not avoid its statutory responsibility by transferring the complaint elsewhere.
Concerns raised over preservation of evidence
The objections also claimed that the status report failed to mention any steps taken to preserve key evidence in the case. These included inventory registers, stock records, CCTV footage, transportation and dispatch documents, assay reports, Mint correspondence, electronic records and documents related to the receipt, storage, transportation, testing and melting of the silver offerings. After considering the submissions, the court directed the concerned Crime Branch inquiry officer to personally appear with the complete case records on July 29.
What is the alleged 'fake silver' controversy?
The controversy emerged after reports claimed that nearly 20 tonnes of accumulated silver offerings, estimated to be worth around Rs 550 crore, had been sent for testing, melting and processing. According to the allegations, only about five to six per cent of the material was found to be genuine silver, while the remaining quantity allegedly consisted of cadmium, iron and other inferior metals.
The complaint seeks to determine whether devotees were sold fake or adulterated silver articles by vendors and jewellers, or whether genuine silver offerings were substituted, diluted, pilfered or misappropriated at any stage after being received by the shrine authorities.
It also seeks an investigation into the source, manufacture, procurement and supply chain of the alleged cadmium-containing material, besides fixing responsibility on officials, custodians, vendors, suppliers, handlers or transporters, if any wrongdoing is established.
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