The Supreme Court on Monday closed its monitoring of the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya after the Uttar Pradesh government informed it that a chargesheet had been filed against eight accused.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the judicial magistrate concerned to proceed with the case in accordance with law. It also permitted the petitioners, who had sought an independent investigation, to assist the trial court, citing the public interest involved.
The court clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the allegations.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told the bench that the investigation had been completed and a chargesheet running into more than 60,000 pages was filed before an anti-corruption court in Ayodhya in September.
Mehta said the investigation found that donations were allegedly stolen during the counting process. He told the court that investigators traced the money through bank accounts and property purchases, adding that an audit had also been conducted and all valuables and donations had been accounted for.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) identified 105 instances of alleged unauthorised removal or concealment of cash during the counting of donations inside the temple premises. Eight people were named as accused in the case.
The Supreme Court had constituted a second SIT in July, headed by Lucknow range Inspector General of Police Kiran S, to investigate allegations of donation pilferage and irregularities in the handling of valuables at the temple.
The petitions before the Supreme Court had sought an independent probe into the alleged misappropriation of donations, including a CBI investigation.
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