The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that the investigation into alleged irregularities in donation collections at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has uncovered 105 instances of unauthorized currency removal, as captured by CCTV footage. The Uttar Pradesh government assured the court that its special investigation team (SIT) has nearly completed the inquiry and plans to file a chargesheet by September 25.
Mehta pointed out that the accused would become entitled to default bail if the chargesheet was not filed within the prescribed period. Range inspector general Kiran S and special secretary (finance) Neel Ratan Kumar are the other members. The court noted that the primary offences under investigation included criminal breach of trust and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act .
The September 25 deadline assumes significance as the statutory 90-day period for completing the investigation, reckoned from the first arrest in the case, expires that day. The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, after perusing the SIT’s status report in court, directed that the chargesheet be filed before the jurisdictional additional sessions judge on or before September 25. The three-member SIT, headed by Lucknow divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 at the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, before the Supreme Court intervened in the matter. At the same time, the court made it clear that the possibility of further investigation would remain open under Section 193 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The investigation also covered specific donations referred to in media reports, including 200 kg and 38.288 kg silver bricks, a silver necklace, a pair of charan paduka and a donated copy of the Ramcharitmanas, the court was informed.
The bench said the relevant contents of the status report were summarised in its judicial order and that it did not want to take the investigation or proceedings out of the hands of the jurisdictional sessions court. The SIT used CCTV footage extensively to identify the accused, with the investigation subsequently relying on recoveries, forensic examination and audit material, according to the report.
It also directed the state to place a copy of the chargesheet before the Supreme Court.
