The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Special Investigation Team formed by the Uttar Pradesh government to investigate the alleged embezzlement of donation money at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and thereby submit a status report in the matter.
Furthermore, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohna delivered a notice to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust regarding the pleas, which sought a fair and time-bound probe in the donation ‘theft’ row.
This comes after Narendra Kumar Goswami, one of the three petitioners, moved the top court to seek a CBI probe in the matter. Additionally, he sought a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the finances of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust. The trust manages the affairs of the Ram temple.
The second petition was filed by Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav. And the third petition filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh asked for a forensic audit of the temple’s entire finances.
A partial working day bench of Justice B. V. Nagarathna had earlier, to that, asked one of the petitioners to mention the case for an urgent hearing.
Meanwhile, the Ram Temple Trust also opened applications for the post of its first executive officer. The applications would be open till 4 pm on July 18. The application read that the candidate with experience managing temples or Hindu religious institutions, including retired officers, could apply for the position. It further stated that the applicants must be practicing Hindus. A devotee of Lord Ram from the Vaishnava tradition would be desirable.
At the same time, the SIT is expected to again pay a visit to Ayodhya in the coming days and question people associated with the temple trust, the news agency PTI reported. The SIT submitted its preliminary inquiry report to the state government last month on June 23.
