New Delhi, 21 September (H.S.): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged theft of donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya will file a chargesheet before the trial court within the next two days. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh SIT, informed a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during the hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday.

During the hearing, Mehta said the 90-day period granted for completing the investigation expires on September 25. Therefore, if the chargesheet is not filed by September 25, the accused in the case would become entitled to default bail. He said the September 25 deadline could not be extended. The SIT also submitted an updated status report on the investigation before the Supreme Court during Monday’s hearing.

Earlier, on August 17, the Court had directed the SIT to expedite the investigation. It had also asked the SIT to submit, in a sealed cover, a status report detailing the progress made so far in the probe into the alleged theft of donations.

On July 27, the Uttar Pradesh government had informed the Supreme Court that a new SIT had been constituted to investigate the alleged theft of donations. Subsequently, the Supreme Court directed that a forensic auditor be included in the investigation. During the hearing, Mehta said the Uttar Pradesh government had constituted an SIT headed by IGP Kiran S. The Court had issued notices to the trust and the Uttar Pradesh government on July 13 and had summoned records relating to the constitution of the SIT.

The petition was filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav. The petition seeks directions to the Central government, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to establish a mechanism to prevent financial irregularities, stating that the matter concerns the sentiments of millions of devotees.

Earlier, advocate Anoop Awasthi had also written to the Supreme Court, stating that the matter was connected with the faith of millions of people across the country. The letter sought a court-monitored investigation into the case. It stated that the temple is administered by a trust constituted following the Supreme Court’s 2020 judgment and that its consecration ceremony was held on January 22, 2024. Since then, large numbers of devotees have been visiting the temple every day and making donations in its donation boxes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar