Supreme Court Ends Probe Into Ayodhya Temple Donation Theft

The Supreme Court of India closed proceedings on petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into financial irregularities and the embezzlement of donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant ruled that the trial will now proceed in a local court following the filing of a chargesheet by a court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the SIT investigation revealed donations were embezzled during the counting process. Some accused individuals allegedly invested the stolen funds into properties or maintained them as bank deposits. Earlier status reports submitted to the court identified 105 incidents of donation theft captured on CCTV footage and noted that valuable offerings had been stored in State Bank of India lockers.

While the court declined to order a CBI probe or rule on a separate plea regarding the temple's land status, it granted the original writ petitioners the liberty to assist the judicial magistrate in Ayodhya during the trial due to the public interest involved. The court emphasized that it has not expressed an opinion on the merits of the case to avoid prejudice.