Supreme Court to Hear Public Interest Petitions on Ram Temple Trust Financial Irregularities

New Delhi, July 13: The Supreme Court will hear a group of public interest petitions on Monday concerning alleged financial irregularities in the management of donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya. The petitions call for a court-monitored investigation into the handling of these funds.

According to the cause list released on the Supreme Court’s official website, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohan will preside over the hearings.

The petitions include a writ petition filed by lawyer Narendra Kumar Goswami, a criminal writ petition against the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust by Ajay Kumar Rai and others, and a separate petition by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh.

Previously, when Goswami’s petition was mentioned before a bench led by Justice M.M. Sundresh, the Supreme Court declined to hear it immediately. The petitioner had urged for an urgent listing, stating that the allegations were “very serious.”

Questioning the urgency of the matter, the bench headed by Justice Sundresh directed that the case be listed for hearing after the Supreme Court reopens following the summer recess.

Goswami’s petition seeks directions for the preservation of records and evidence related to donations made to the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and calls for greater transparency in the management of these offerings.

According to the petition, offerings made to a deity in a public temple are considered “sacred trust property,” which is legally vested in the deity. The individuals managing such offerings are trustees bound by duties of transparency, accountability, and preservation.

The petition demands the immediate preservation of all records, CCTV footage, and digital logs related to donations and offerings at the temple. It also seeks a sealed status report on the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry and an independent forensic audit of all donations, offerings, and valuable items received since the establishment of the trust.

Additionally, the Supreme Court has been urged to direct the establishment of at least constitutional safeguards for the transparent handling of public donations and offerings at temples of national importance.

Referencing recent events, the petition highlights that the issue arose following public reports and an investigation by a three-member SIT formed by the Uttar Pradesh government, which allegedly uncovered irregularities, embezzlement, and mismanagement of donations at the temple.

Meanwhile, MP Sudhakar Singh has requested that the ongoing investigation be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court. His petition also calls for the formation of a temporary, court-monitored committee comprising retired judicial officers and financial experts to oversee the trust’s secular financial matters, secure all financial records, impose a moratorium on major financial decisions until the investigation is completed, conduct a comprehensive forensic audit, and publish audited financial statements and donation details on the trust’s official website.