NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will resume hearing a batch of pleas seeking a CBI probe into the alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir on Monday, September 21.
According to the apex court’s cause list, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana is scheduled to hear the petitions.
During the previous hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, informed the Supreme Court that the investigation was underway and eight people had been arrested. The law officer said he could not disclose further details about the case to the court.
On July 13, the bench had directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to submit a status report in the matter. On July 27, the bench took note of the setting up of a four-member SIT headed by IGP Kiran S to probe the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
It had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to also include a forensic auditor in the probe team.
The PIL (Public Interest Litigation) filed by advocates Narendra Kumar Goswami, Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav and others sought a court-monitored probe by the CBI and other agencies into the alleged misappropriation of donation funds collected at the Ram Mandir.
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.
The Supreme Court, in one of the hearings, had asked a court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to expedite its probe to its logical conclusion into the alleged misappropriation of donations collected for the Ram temple.
The top court in its order also asked the SIT to objectively consider any suggestions made by the different litigants before the court for qualitative improvement of the investigation and its transparency.
The bench -- passed these important directions after hearing a batch of pleas -- had earlier said the SIT must conclude the investigation expeditiously and take it to its logical conclusion.
The batch of petitions sought an inquiry into the allegations that donations made by devotees for the temple construction were not properly accounted for. The petitioners argued that given the scale of public donations and the religious importance of the project, transparency was essential.
The apex court noted that the SIT was already constituted to look into the matter. It refrained from giving further directions on the scope but stressed that the probe should not be delayed.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is overseeing construction of the Ram temple, has earlier denied any irregularities and said all donations are duly recorded.
According to the petition, there were claims of improper accounting of devotee contributions. The petitioners sought a court-monitored probe to ensure accountability.
The petitions claimed that there was a lack of transparency in the collection and use of donations for the Ram temple.
The plea also said that there was urgency in the case, as physical, electronic, digital, banking and inventory records relating to donations and offerings at Shri Ram. Janmabhoomi Mandir, Ayodhya are preserved.
The petitioners also submitted that preservation of records will not prejudice a respondent. "It will not declare guilt. It will not interfere with any religious affair. It will not obstruct temple administration, worship, darshan, rituals, sewa or puja-paddhati. It will only preserve the subject matter of justice," the petition stated.
The petitioners further added that public faith is not weakened by transparency; it is strengthened by it. A matter concerning donations and offerings made by millions of devotees cannot be treated as an ordinary private accounting dispute. It concerns constitutional morality, public accountability, fiduciary responsibility and the rule of law in the secular administration of sacred public offerings.
Goswami also stressed that the petition was confined strictly to secular aspects such as receipt, custody, counting, accounting, audit, digital trail, inventory control, CCTV preservation, QR/UPI verification, bank reconciliation and public accountability of donations and offerings.
"It does not seek to touch religious practices protected under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India," the plea stated.