New Delhi: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government has submitted its status report in a sealed cover before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions on Monday seeking a court-monitored probe into alleged financial irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
According to the list of cases uploaded on the apex court’s official website, the set of petitions is scheduled to be heard on July 20 by a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.
The petitions include a writ petition filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, a criminal writ petition filed by personal petitioner Ajay Kumar Rai, a separate plea filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh and another petition filed by Hindu Dharma Parishad.
Earlier, issuing a notice in the matter, the bench headed by CJI Kant had directed the SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to submit its status report before the apex court. “As it is stated in some of the writ petitions that some FIRs have already been registered and an SIT has been constituted to investigate the matter, we direct the SIT constituted by the State of Uttar Pradesh to file a status report before this Court. The status report shall also provide complete details regarding the composition of the SIT,” the top court had ordered on July 13.
Appearing on behalf of the Center and the Uttar Pradesh government during the previous hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had informed the bench headed by CJI Kant that the SIT status report would be submitted before the apex court in a sealed cover. When the petitioners requested that a copy of the status report also be provided to them, SG Mehta opposed the request, saying that the investigation was still ongoing.
Rejecting the application then, the CJI’s Kant-led bench observed: “We will see it later. It is an ongoing investigation. You know the law. We have passed an order.”
The petitions seek a court-supervised probe into alleged financial irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The plea filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami seeks preservation of records and evidence related to donations made at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and greater transparency in the administration of temple offerings.
In a separate petition, RJD MP Sudhakar Singh sought transfer of the ongoing investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court. Their petition also seeks the appointment of a court-supervised temporary oversight committee, the preservation of financial records, a comprehensive forensic audit, and the publication of audited financial statements and donation records on the Trust’s official website.
