Supreme Court to hear pleas on July 20 to probe Ram temple donation theft case

Image used for representational purposes. File | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a series of pleas on July 20 seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

According to the apex court’s list of cases for July 20, four separate pleas related to the issue will come up for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

On July 13, the apex court agreed to hear these pleas and ordered a special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the matter and submit a status report to it.

The Bench also issued a notice to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to get a reply in this matter.

“As some of the pleadings state that some FIRs have already been registered and an SIT has been constituted to investigate the matter, we direct the SIT constituted by the state of Uttar Pradesh to submit a status report to this court,” the apex court said.

Narendra Kumar Goswami, one of the petitioners in the case, moved the apex court demanding a CBI probe into the case.

He also asked for an audit of the finances of the Comptroller and Auditor General of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the affairs of the Ram Temple.

Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, who filed one of the petitions in the apex court, said a multi-disciplinary SIT headed by the CBI should probe the alleged financial irregularities and other alleged illegalities related to the affairs and management of the temple trust.

A third petition by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, besides seeking a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe, demanded a forensic audit of the Trust’s entire finances.

Another petition filed by the ‘Hindu Dharma Parishad’ demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into these allegations.

On June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT at the request of the temple trust following allegations of misappropriation of donations received at the Ram temple.

The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S. and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.

Published – 18 Jul 2026 12:58 IST