The Supreme Court on Monday (July 13) issued a notice to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on pleas seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the alleged theft of donations from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohna also directed the Uttar Pradesh Special Investigation Team (SIT) to file a status report on the progress of its investigation into the alleged donation theft case.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who entered an appearance on behalf of the Centre and the State, said that the status report will be filed in a sealed cover.
Next hearing on July 20
The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 20, when the court will consider the petitions and examine the SIT's findings.
Narendra Kumar Goswami, one of the three petitioners, moved the top court seeking a CBI probe into the matter. He also sought a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the finances of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the affairs of the Ram temple. Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav filed the second petition seeking similar measures.
Besides seeking a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe, the third petition filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh has sought a forensic audit of the entire finances of the temple trust.
Ram Temple donation theft case
The alleged misuse of temple donations came to light in the first week of June after irregularities were reported during the counting of offerings at the Ram temple. Acting on the recommendation of the temple trust, the Uttar Pradesh government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the matter. The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S, and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.
The SIT found prima facie evidence of embezzlement, leading to the registration of an FIR. So far, eight people associated with the temple's donation-counting process have been arrested in connection with the case.
According to the SIT, CCTV footage from a 45-day period showed repeated violations of these procedures. Investigators alleged that the accused took advantage of weak monitoring and inadequate checks on cash movement inside the counting hall.
The report states that theft allegedly occurred on at least 70 occasions during this period. It also mentions the recovery of around Rs 78.94 lakh from some employees before the investigation and another Rs 2.25 lakh from a bathroom attached to the counting room.
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