The Supreme Court would hear a batch of pleas
seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations
at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on July 13.
On July 7, an Ayodhya court granted one-day police
remand for three of the eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged
theft of donations at the Ram temple. The court authorised the remand for
Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.
On June 29, a local court had sent all the eight
accused to 14-day judicial custody.
According to the Supreme Court website, a bench
comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana
will hear as many as three petitions filed on the issue when the apex court
reopens on Monday.
Narendra
Kumar Goswami, one of the three petitioners, has moved the top court seeking a
CBI probe into the incident. He also sought a Comptroller and Auditor General
(CAG) audit of the finances of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust,
which manages the affairs of the Ram temple.
The second petition has been filed by Ajay Kumar Rai
and Dinesh Kumar Yadav seeking similar measures.
Besides seeking an apex court-monitored CBI probe,
the third petition, filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, has sought a forensic audit
of the entire finances of the temple trust.
Earlier, a partial working day bench headed by
Justice B V Nagarathna had asked one of the petitioners to mention the case for
urgent hearing on a later date.
The petition, filed by practising advocates Ajay
Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav, said a CBI-led multi-disciplinary special
investigation team (SIT) should investigate the alleged financial
irregularities and other purported illegalities concerning the affairs and
administration of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Rai, in his petition, has sought directions to the
Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Trust for constituting and
operationalising such regulatory, supervisory and audit mechanisms as may be
necessary to safeguard public interest and maintain the confidence of millions
of devotees and donors.
"Whether or not the reports regarding missing
funds and other alleged irregularities concerning the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi
Teerth Kshetra Trust are ultimately found to be true, such reports have caused
deep concern among the generations that struggled for the restoration of the
glory of Ayodhya," the plea said.
It also said the SIT constituted by the Uttar
Pradesh government commenced its inquiry into the matter without the
registration of an FIR or any regular criminal case.
The plea said the veracity of reports concerning
alleged missing funds and other purported irregularities involving the Trust
ought to be independently verified through a professional investigation
conducted by a unified agency possessing the requisite expertise, resources and
institutional mechanisms for handling complex financial and criminal
investigations.
"Such an inquiry would inspire greater public
confidence than a preliminary probe conducted by a special investigation team
comprising administrative officers who may not possess specialised credentials
in criminal investigation," the plea said.
It said the issues involved not only concern the
possible commission of cognisable offences but also directly affect the faith,
sentiments and confidence of countless devotees and the public.
On June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted
the SIT on a request from the temple trust following allegations of misappropriation
of donations received at the Ram temple.
The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner
Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Special Secretary
(Finance) Neel Ratan.