Supreme Court ends pleas for monitored probe into Ram temple donation theft case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday closed a set of petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into alleged irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, after the Uttar Pradesh government said a charge sheet had been filed in the case.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, asked the concerned Judicial Magistrate to take the case forward in accordance with law. The court allowed the petitioners to take part in the trial proceedings, saying the matter involved public interest.
The judges made it clear that they had not expressed any view on the truth of the allegations. They said the petitioners could assist the trial court to the extent permitted for victims of crime under law.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government, told the bench that the charge sheet had been filed after the investigation found that thefts occurred while donations and offerings were being counted at the temple.
He said investigators had examined the bank accounts and past transactions of each accused employee to determine how much money they had deposited. Mehta added that some accused persons had also invested in property.
The petitions were filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, petitioner-in-person Ajay Kumar Rai, RJD MP Sudhakar Singh and the Hindu Dharma Parishad. They sought a court-supervised probe, preservation of donation records, greater transparency in the Trust’s accounting and a full forensic audit of its finances.
At an earlier hearing, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the court that the Special Investigation Team had substantially completed its probe and would file the charge sheet within the required timeframe. It had also submitted a status report in a sealed cover.
According to the report, the reconstituted SIT examined CCTV footage and other material to identify suspects and review records connected with donations and offerings. The footage reportedly showed 105 incidents of theft at the temple. The report also said receipts for valuable offerings were generated through software and that such items were stored in State Bank of India lockers.
The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the state to reconstitute the SIT to ensure a fair, speedy and effective investigation. The new team was headed by Inspector General of Police Kiran S., with DIG Ayodhya Somen Verma and SSP Ayodhya Gaurav Grover as members.
The court had also directed that a forensic auditor be associated with the investigation in view of allegations of misappropriation of Trust funds.
(Inputs from IANS)