RJD MP moves Supreme Court seeking CBI probe into Ram Janmabhoomi Trust finances

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Member of Parliament Sudhakar Singh has moved the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe into the financial affairs of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in the wake of recent allegations of misappropriation of donations meant for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

The public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeks transfer of the ongoing investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

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

It clarifies that the prayers do not seek any interference with the religious rituals, customs or practices associated with the Ram Mandir and are confined to ensuring transparency and accountability in the Trust’s financial administration.

Besides CBI probe, the petition has 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.

It has 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.

It has also prayed for the the Trust to be restrained from taking major financial or administrative decisions, including utilisation of Trust funds, award of substantial contracts, creation of third-party rights, alienation of assets or major investments.

The petition further asks the Supreme Court to direct the Trust to place before it a complete statement of all donations and contributions received since its constitution.

The fresh plea comes days after the Supreme Court declined urgent listing of another PIL petition seeking a CBI probe into alleged financial irregularities and missing donations at the Ram Mandir.

That petition, filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, was mentioned before a vacation Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu. They argued that electronic evidence could be tampered with and sought immediate directions for preservation of records.

The Bench, however, declined urgent listing and asked the petitioners to furnish a copy of the petition to the court registry, observing that the matter would be considered in due course.

Like the earlier petition, the present plea contends that the existing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe lacks the institutional independence and specialised forensic capability required to investigate alleged financial irregularities involving the Trust.

The present petition has been filed through advocates Satyam Singh and Jaswanthi A.