Supreme Court to hear pleas for court-monitored probe into Ram temple donation irregularities on Monday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

According to the cause list uploaded on the apex court’s official website, the matters will be heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

The petitions include a writ petition filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, a criminal writ petition filed by petitioner-in-person Ajay Kumar Rai, a separate plea moved by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh, and another petition filed by Hindu Dharma Parishad.

The petitioners have sought judicial oversight of the investigation into the alleged irregularities, along with greater transparency in the accounting of donations and offerings made to the Trust.

UP government says SIT probe substantially complete

At the previous hearing on September 21, the Uttar Pradesh government informed the Supreme Court that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged irregularities had substantially completed its investigation and would file a chargesheet within the next two days.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government, told the CJI-led Bench that a status report had been submitted in a sealed cover.

Mehta also informed the court that the deadline for filing the chargesheet expired on September 25 and that the document would be submitted within the stipulated period.

The state government maintained that the investigation had been completed to a substantial extent, with the chargesheet to be filed before the competent court after the remaining formalities were completed.

Taking the submissions on record, the Supreme Court permitted the Sessions Judge concerned to pass an appropriate order in accordance with the law.

CCTV footage reveals 105 alleged donation theft incidents

The status report submitted to the apex court detailed the SIT’s examination of CCTV footage and other material to identify the accused, along with its scrutiny of records relating to donations and offerings.

According to the report, the analysis of CCTV footage revealed 105 incidents of theft of donations at the temple.

The report also stated that receipts for valuable items received as offerings were generated through software, while the valuables were kept in State Bank of India (SBI) lockers.

The investigation has focused on alleged irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Supreme Court reconstitutes SIT, calls for forensic auditor

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to reconstitute the SIT investigating the alleged financial irregularities and ensure a fair, speedy and qualitative probe.

The state government subsequently informed the court that the reconstituted team was headed by Inspector General of Police Kiran S., with DIG Ayodhya Somen Verma and SSP Ayodhya Dr Gaurav Grover serving as members.

Taking note of allegations concerning the alleged misappropriation of Trust funds, the CJI-led Bench had also indicated that a forensic auditor should be associated with the investigation.

“Since the nature of the investigation involves alleged misappropriation of trust funds, the Solicitor General has fairly agreed that a forensic auditor shall also be associated as a member of the SIT,” the Supreme Court had recorded in its order.

Petitioners seek financial transparency and audit

The batch of petitions seeks a court-monitored investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Trust.

The pleas also call for the preservation of donation-related records, greater transparency in the accounting of offerings and a comprehensive forensic audit of the Trust’s finances.

The Supreme Court’s hearing on Monday will take place against the backdrop of the SIT’s investigation and the Uttar Pradesh government’s submissions regarding the progress of the probe.