The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the alleged theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple submitted its status report to the Supreme Court on Sunday. The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday.
Event Context
The report has been filed in a sealed cover. During the previous hearing on July 13, the Supreme Court had directed the SIT to submit its findings while hearing a batch of petitions seeking, among other things, a CBI probe into the alleged donation theft.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan had also asked the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to file their respective responses.
Appearing for the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta had informed the Bench that the investigation report would be submitted in a sealed cover. The court also rejected his request not to issue notice to the temple trust.
One of the petitions, filed by Narendra Kumar Goswami, seeks a CBI investigation into the alleged donation theft and also requests that the Trust’s financial accounts be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Team Analysis
Another petition, filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, seeks the constitution of a multi-disciplinary Special Investigation Team led by the CBI to investigate the alleged financial irregularities in the Trust’s functioning and administration.
A third petition, filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh, seeks a forensic audit of the Trust’s entire financial operations. It also urges the Supreme Court to direct the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Trust to establish and implement a robust regulatory, supervisory and audit framework to safeguard public interest and maintain the confidence of millions of devotees and donors.
