NEW DELHI: The controversy surrounding the alleged theft and misappropriation of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir has reached the Supreme Court. The top court has sought responses from the Central government, the Uttar Pradesh government, and the temple trust, while directing the state’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit a status report on its probe.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Suryakant, and comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, scheduled the next hearing for July 20.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the state government, accepted the notices. He informed the court that the SIT status report would be submitted in a sealed cover.
During the hearing, a counsel representing one of the petitioners emphasized the need to preserve CCTV footage and other relevant records. Another lawyer requested a copy of the status report to be submitted by the state. However, the bench declined the request at this stage, noting, “We will see later. This is an ongoing investigation.”
The court is hearing petitions filed on the matter, including two joint pleas by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, and another by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh through advocate Satyam Singh Rajput. The petitioners have demanded a CBI probe into the alleged theft, arguing that the Yogi Adityanath-led state government, UP Police, and the state SIT cannot be relied upon for a fair, transparent, and unbiased investigation.
The RJD MP’s petition seeks a CBI investigation into the alleged theft of donations. It also demands that the temple trust be directed to submit a comprehensive record of all cash and valuables received since its inception on February 20, 2020.
The plea contends that the matter involves issues of immense public importance, affecting the administration of the trust, the security of offerings made by millions of devotees, and public faith in one of the country’s most revered religious institutions. It stresses the need for constitutional safeguards to ensure that the investigation inspires national confidence.
The petition urges the Supreme Court to direct the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to disclose complete details of all donations, including cash, bank transfers, digital payments, foreign contributions, gold, silver, and other valuables, along with information on their accounting, custody, and utilization.
The second petition, filed by advocates Rai and Yadav, argues that financial mismanagement within an institution acting in a fiduciary capacity directly hurts the faith, sentiments, and trust of countless devotees who contributed voluntarily to the construction of the temple.
The plea states that the veracity of allegations concerning missing funds and accounting irregularities can only be established through a thorough, independent, and professional investigation by an agency equipped with specialized expertise and the institutional framework to probe complex financial crimes.
A third petition, filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, seeks a declaration that all offerings made by devotees to Shri Ram Lalla Virajman—including cash, gold, silver, jewelry, and digital donations—constitute the sacred property of the trust and must be managed in a transparent, accountable, and trustworthy manner.
