The Supreme Court will hear on July 13 a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
According to the Supreme Court website, a Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana will take up three petitions when the apex court reopens on Monday.
The pleas seek a fair and time-bound investigation into the alleged financial irregularities involving the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the affairs of the Ram temple.
One of the petitions, filed by Narendra Kumar Goswami, seeks a CBI probe into the alleged embezzlement and a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the Trust's finances.
A second petition, filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, seeks the constitution of a CBI-led multi-disciplinary Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged financial irregularities and other purported illegalities concerning the Trust's affairs and administration.
The third plea, filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, seeks a Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation and a forensic audit of the Trust's entire finances.
Earlier, a partial working day Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna had asked one of the petitioners to mention the matter later for an urgent hearing.
Rai's petition also seeks directions to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Trust to establish appropriate regulatory, supervisory and audit mechanisms to safeguard public interest and maintain the confidence of devotees and donors.
“Whether or not the reports regarding missing funds and other alleged irregularities concerning the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust are ultimately found to be true, such reports have caused deep concern among the generations that struggled for the restoration of the glory of Ayodhya,” the plea said.
The petition also questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's SIT inquiry, saying it was initiated without the registration of an FIR or any regular criminal case.
It said the veracity of reports concerning alleged missing funds and other purported irregularities involving the Trust ought to be independently verified through a professional investigation conducted by a unified agency possessing the requisite expertise, resources and institutional mechanisms for handling complex financial and criminal investigations.
“Such an inquiry would inspire greater public confidence than a preliminary probe conducted by a special investigation team comprising administrative officers who may not possess specialised credentials in criminal investigation," the plea said.
It said the issues involved not only concern the possible commission of cognisable offences but also directly affect the faith, sentiments and confidence of countless devotees and the public.
The Uttar Pradesh government had constituted a three-member SIT on June 13 at the request of the temple trust following allegations of misappropriation of donations received at the Ram temple. The panel comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S. and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation into the alleged donations theft is also progressing. On July 7, an Ayodhya court granted one-day police remand of three of the eight accused, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey. The eight accused had earlier been remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a local court on June 29.
(With inputs from PTI)