New Delhi, 10 August (H.S.): The Supreme Court will hear on August 17 a plea seeking an investigation into the alleged theft of donations made at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya.

During the hearing on Monday, counsel appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government told a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was unavailable as he was in the United States to attend an event. Following the submission, the Chief Justice directed that the matter be taken up on August 17.

The case had been listed for hearing on Monday. On July 27, the Uttar Pradesh government informed the Supreme Court that a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted to investigate the alleged theft of donations. The court subsequently directed that a forensic auditor be included in the probe and asked the SIT to submit a status report on its investigation.

During the earlier proceedings, Mehta had informed the court that the Uttar Pradesh government had constituted an SIT headed by S. Kiran, Inspector General of Police, Lucknow Range.

Counsel appearing for the petitioner, Devadatt Kamat, had argued that donations collected from across the country for the construction of the Ram temple should be audited and that details of the distribution of funds received by the trust should be made public to ensure transparency for devotees and donors.

The Supreme Court had issued notices to the temple trust and the Uttar Pradesh government on July 13 and sought records relating to the constitution of the SIT.

The petition has been filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav. It seeks directions to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to establish a mechanism to prevent alleged financial irregularities, arguing that the issue is closely connected with the sentiments and faith of millions of devotees.

Earlier, another lawyer had also written to the Supreme Court seeking suo motu intervention and an investigation into the matter. Advocate Anoop Awasthi, in his letter to the apex court, said the issue involved the faith of millions of people across the country and urged that the investigation be conducted under the court's supervision.

The letter further stated that the temple is administered by the trust constituted following the Supreme Court's 2020 judgment in the Ayodhya dispute. The temple's consecration ceremony was held on January 22, 2024. Since then, large numbers of devotees have been visiting the temple every day and making offerings in its donation boxes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar