Supreme Court to hear Ram temple donation embezzlement pleas on August 17

The Supreme Court will hear on August 17 petitions seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The court earlier directed Uttar Pradesh government to include a forensic auditor in the probe

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on August 17 a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was apprised by a lawyer that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who has been appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, has gone to the United Nations for a function.

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The bench deferred the hearing to August 17.

Earlier in the day, the top court agreed to consider the request by the counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government to defer the hearing on these pleas.

On July 27, the top court took note of the setting up of a four-member SIT headed by IGP Kiran S to probe alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple.

It had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to also include a forensic auditor in the probe team.

Observing that “remedial actions will have to be taken”, the bench had said steps will be taken to “ensure transparency”.

The bench had also directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit a status report in two weeks.

On July 20, the bench had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it of the possibility of setting up an SIT to probe the alleged embezzlement of donations.

It had asked the solicitor general to take instructions on whether the SIT, which had examined the entire issue before the registration of the FIR, could be entrusted with the responsibility to probe the case instead of the local police.

“Just a word of caution. Please don’t politicise the issue. The courts are not a place for politics. It is a simple case of commission of crime. We are (here) just to ensure a proper investigation,” the CJI had said.

Investigation is going on and eight persons have been arrested, the law officer had said, adding that he cannot divulge much.

On July 13, the bench had directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to submit a status report in the matter.

It had also issued a notice to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on pleas seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the alleged donation theft.

Narendra Kumar Goswami, one of the three petitioners, moved the top court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter.

He also sought an audit of the finances of the Trust, which manages the affairs of the Ram temple, by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav filed the second petition seeking similar measures.

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.