Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking probe into Ram Temple Trust funds
The Supreme Court of India will hear a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into alleged financial irregularities in donations received by the Ram Janmabhoomi temple trust in Ayodhya.
The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear on Monday a group of petitions calling for a court-monitored investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which oversees the Ram temple in Ayodhya. According to the cause list published on the court's official website, the matters will come before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, together with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.
The batch includes a writ petition filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, a criminal writ petition filed in person by Ajay Kumar Rai, a separate plea moved by Rashtriya Janata Dal member of parliament Sudhakar Singh, and a petition filed by the Hindu Dharma Parishad. Together, the petitions seek preservation of donation-related records, greater transparency in the accounting of offerings and a comprehensive forensic audit of the trust's finances.
At the previous hearing on September 21, the Uttar Pradesh government told the court that the Special Investigation Team probing the alleged irregularities had substantially completed its investigation and would file the charge sheet within the next two days. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the state government, said a status report had been submitted in a sealed cover and that the deadline for filing the charge sheet expired on September 25. The Supreme Court took the submission on record and permitted the concerned Sessions Judge to pass an appropriate order in accordance with law.
The status report described how the SIT analysed CCTV footage and other material to identify the accused, and examined records relating to donations and offerings. According to the report, the footage analysis revealed 105 incidents of theft of donations at the temple. It also stated that receipts for valuable items received as offerings were generated through software, and that such valuables were kept in State Bank of India lockers.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to reconstitute the SIT and ensure a fair, speedy and qualitative investigation. The state later informed the court that the reconstituted team is headed by Inspector General of Police Kiran S., with DIG Ayodhya Somen Verma and SSP Ayodhya Dr Gaurav Grover as members. Because the allegations concern the alleged misappropriation of trust funds, the bench indicated that a forensic auditor should be associated with the investigation. The Solicitor General agreed that a forensic auditor would be included as a member of the SIT, a point the court recorded in its order.
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