New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved before the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe and forensic audit into the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, citing reports of alleged financial irregularities linked to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The writ petition, filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami in his personal capacity, has sought directions for the preservation of records and evidence relating to donations made at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and greater transparency in the administration of temple offerings.
According to the plea, the petitioner has sought a declaration that offerings made to a deity in a public temple constitute “sacred trust property” vesting in the deity as a juristic person and that persons handling such offerings are fiduciaries bound by duties of transparency, accountability and preservation.
The petition has sought immediate preservation of “all evidence, records, CCTV footage, and digital logs relating to donations and offerings at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Ayodhya”.
It has further prayed for a sealed status report from an ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe and an independent forensic audit of all donations, offerings and valuable items received by the Trust since its inception.
The PIL has also urged the apex court to direct the formulation of “minimum constitutional safeguards for transparent handling of public temple donations and offerings in temples of national importance”.
Referring to recent developments, the plea said the cause of action arose in June 2026 when “public reports and the constitution of an SIT by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh revealed allegations of irregularities, misappropriation, and mishandling of donations and offerings at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Ayodhya”.
“The SIT has questioned trust members, examined financial records, and donation accounts,” it added.
The petition contended that the case raises “substantial questions of law of general public importance concerning the intersection of Articles 14, 21, 25, and 26 with the secular administration of public temple property”.
Clarifying the scope of the plea, the petitioner stated that it was confined to the secular administration of donations and “does not seek interference in religious rituals, customs, or denominational matters”.
The plea further said that representations had been submitted to the concerned authorities seeking preservation of evidence, forensic audit, investigation and safeguards, but no satisfactory response had been received.
As per the PIL, allegations of financial irregularities surfaced publicly on June 7, following which the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member SIT on June 13.
(IANS)
