Supreme Court disposes of Ram temple donation pleas; trial to proceed in Ayodhya court

The Supreme Court on Monday (November 2) disposed of the petitions on alleged irregularities in donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Uttar Pradesh government told the court that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had filed a chargesheet in the case. The court then said the trial court should now hear the matter further in accordance with law.

The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. Appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the SIT's investigation was complete and the chargesheet had been filed.

The Supreme Court allowed the petitioners to put their case before the concerned trial court in Ayodhya during the trial and to assist the prosecution. The court also made clear that it had expressed no opinion on the merits or the truth of the allegations in the case.

The investigation began with a Supreme Court direction of July 20, when the court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a new SIT. The government did so on July 27. The team was headed by Kiran S., Inspector General of Police, Lucknow Range. It also included a DIG and a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

On September 21, the SIT had presented a status report on the investigation to the Supreme Court. The team had said that, based on CCTV footage, 105 instances had come to light of cash being taken out or concealed without permission during the counting of donations at the temple. The court had also been told that evidence had been found against eight people.

Several petitions had been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a separate CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities in the temple's donations. The petitioners included advocates Narendra Kumar Goswami and Ajay Kumar Rai, RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, the Hindu Dharma Parishad and the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

The petitions made several demands, including handing the investigation to the CBI, constituting a separate SIT and setting up an expert committee to review the arrangements for handling donations. They also sought a forensic audit of the trust and public disclosure of details of donations received by the temple on the official website.

After the alleged irregularities came to light, some changes were also made in the management of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The trust created the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the first time and made an appointment. The responsibility was given to former Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra. Meanwhile, it is reported that trust general secretary Champat Rai resigned from his post on June 27.

With the petitions disposed of in the Supreme Court, further hearings in the matter will now be held in the trial court in Ayodhya. The evidence in the chargesheet and the court proceedings will clarify the picture of the alleged irregularities.