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Informist, Monday, Jul. 13, 2026

 

--SC notice to Shri Ram Janmbhoomi trust, govt in fincl irregularities case 

--CONTEXT: SC on PIL for probe into trust's misappropriation of donations 

--SC asks police status report on probe into Ram Temple trust irregularities 

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Monday sought a status report from the Uttar Pradesh police on the probe concerning alleged financial irregularities in donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya, which manages the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir. The apex court issued notices to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government on petitions by litigant Narendra Kumar Goswami and others seeking a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation, forensic audit of donations, offerings, received by the trust, on allegations of large-scale misappropriation of donations received by the trust.  

 

In June, reports emerged alleging irregularities, misappropriation, disappearance, and mishandling of donations and offerings at Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. Thereafter, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a special investigation team to examine the matter. Various high-ranking leaders within the temple administration have resigned and eight people have been arrested in the case. 

 

The petitioners have argued that the disappearance or mishandling of offerings made to a deity is an injury to faith, to public trust, to constitutional morality, to the devotees' right to worship, and to the integrity of public religious endowments. Where devotees place money, gold, silver, jewellery, precious articles, or digital donations before the deity, such offerings become impressed with a fiduciary character, said the petitioners. The absence of uniform safeguards for temple donations creates arbitrary and unreasonable risk of breach of faith, misappropriation, and violation of devotees' constitutional rights, they said.

 

The petitioners sought a declaration that offerings made by devotees to the temple's trust including cash, gold, silver, jewellery, valuable articles and digital donations, are sacred trust property requiring transparent, accountable and fiduciary handling. They have sought directions to the authorities to immediately preserve all footage, hard disks, payment gateway records, hundi opening registers, donation counting sheets, bank deposit slips and all documents relating to donations and offerings from the inception of the trust till date. 

 

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir at Ayodhya is one of the most revered Hindu temples in India and has received unprecedented devotion, public attention, and offerings from devotees. The trust administering the temple was created pursuant to the final judgment of the apex court in the Ayodhya matter in 2019, wherein it was ruled that the disputed land in Ayodhya should be handed over to Hindus for the construction of Ram temple.  End  

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj and Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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