The Supreme Court has deferred an urgent plea seeking a CBI probe into alleged financial irregularities and missing donations at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. The court directed the petitioners to file the matter with the registry for a hearing after the summer vacation. The plea calls for securing electronic evidence, citing concerns over the capacity of the current state-led investigation.
What Happened
The Supreme Court has declined an urgent request for a hearing regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that seeks an independent inquiry into alleged financial irregularities at the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. A vacation bench, comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Sanjeev Sachdeva, did not grant the request for an immediate listing. Instead, the court instructed the petitioners to follow the standard process by filing the petition with the registry, with the case expected to be reviewed after the summer vacation period.
The Core Allegations
The PIL, filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, raises concerns about the alleged misappropriation of public donations intended for the temple's construction. The petitioners have requested a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They argue that the existing investigation, which is being handled by a special investigation team (SIT) from the Uttar Pradesh government, may not possess the necessary forensic and technical infrastructure to handle a complex financial inquiry of this nature. Additionally, the petitioners expressed concern that the current state-led inquiry commenced without a formal First Information Report (FIR), which they claim could undermine the evidentiary value of any findings.
Evidence Preservation Concerns
A primary focus of the petition involves the protection of critical records. The petitioners urged the court to issue interim directions to preserve all physical, electronic, and financial records, including donation ledgers, bank records, CCTV footage, and software databases. The legal team argued that such measures are necessary to prevent any potential tampering with critical evidence while the matter remains under scrutiny.
Legal Precedent and Respondents
To support their request for an independent, time-bound investigation, the petitioners drew a comparison to a legal matter from October 2024 involving the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. In that case, the Supreme Court had intervened to replace a state-led investigation with a multidisciplinary SIT headed by the CBI. The respondents named in the current petition include the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the Uttar Pradesh government, and the Union of India.
What To Watch Next
With the Supreme Court declining the urgent hearing, the matter remains pending until the registry processes the filing. The court has not yet addressed the merits of the allegations, as the current decision pertains only to the scheduling of the hearing. The key monitorable will be the subsequent listing of the case following the summer vacation and whether the court chooses to issue notice to the respondents for a formal response.