Supreme Court warns against politicising Ram Mandir fund theft case, says it is only a case of commission of crime

The Supreme Court on Monday cautioned against politicising  the Ayodhya Ram Mandir funds embezzlement case.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing a batch of public interest litigation (PIL) petitions seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged embezzlement of funds meant for the construction of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

"Just a word of caution ... Don't politicise the issue. Courts are not a place for politics. It's a simple case of commission of crime. We are just to ensure proper investigation," said CJI Kant during today's hearing.

In compliance with the Court's earlier directives, a report on the status of the probe so far was also submitted today.

"Who is investigating now?" asked CJI Kant.

"Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to find out the truthfulness. Now it is being probed by the police. SIT just found that there is a cognizable offence," replied Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Uttar Pradesh government.

The Court went on to adjourn the case, after seeking the State's response on whether an SIT could be tasked with conducting the investigation as well.

"We will take up the matter after 3- 4 days and we will look at the aspect of investigation. The SIT had senior members. Please have instructions if a SIT can be formed for investigation," said CJI Kant.

"Yes. We will form and place it on record," replied SG Mehta.

Representing one of the petitioners, Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat expressed that the petitioners were seeking accountability.

"Our PIL is stating that when the temple was built, they sought donation from everyone. Now we are seeking that those receipts are preserved and uploaded," he said.

"Yes, we will look into it," the Court assured.

Other counsel urged the Court for directions to preserve digital records and for the upload of the FIR registered in the case, to ensure transparency.

SG Mehta assured that all records have been preserved.

The Court added that it will hear the case next on July 27.

"We will hear the case on next Monday and pass some directions," said CJI Kant.

One of the petitions before the Court was filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav. They have contended that the allegations of dishonest misappropriation, diversion and embezzlement of public donations meant for the construction of the Ram Temple warrant the registration of a case and an independent, time-bound investigation.

The petitioners added that the existing SIT lacks the forensic and investigative infrastructure required for a complex financial probe and that it had commenced its inquiry without registration of a first information report (FIR), leaving the evidentiary value of its findings vulnerable to challenge.

Drawing a parallel with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam adulterated ghee case, the petition referred to the Supreme Court's October 2024 order in Subramanian Swamy v. State of Andhra Pradesh, where the State's SIT was substituted with an independent multidisciplinary SIT headed by the CBI.

The petitioners have also urged the Court to issue interim directions to the Ram Mandir's Trust and the State to preserve all physical, electronic and financial records, including donation registers, ledgers, CCTV footage, bank records and software databases.

Another petition on the matter has been filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Member of Parliament Sudhakar Singh seeking the transfer of the ongoing investigation to the CBI, under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

The petitioner argued that the constitution of a temporary court-monitored oversight committee comprising retired judicial officers, financial experts and persons of “impeccable integrity” is necessary to oversee the Trust’s secular financial and administrative affairs during the pendency of the investigation.

The petitioner also sought directions to preserve all physical and electronic financial records, including account books, bank records, UPI logs, CCTV footage, emails and servers, to prevent destruction or tampering of evidence.

Singh further sought directions to the Trust to publish audited financial statements, donation details, utilisation of funds and other financial information on its official website at regular intervals, while safeguarding the personal details of donors.

In the last hearing, the Court had sought a report from the SIT on the status of the case as well as the response of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust in the matter.

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