NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17: The Supreme Court declined to share the status report of the Special Investigation Team examining alleged financial irregularities within the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Monday, ruling that the findings will remain confidential for now. Presiding over the proceedings, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant clarified that while the document cannot be distributed to litigants or the public, interested parties may offer constructive inputs regarding the ongoing probe. The apex court directed that all such recommendations must be routed through the office of the Solicitor General to be evaluated directly by the investigating authorities.
“If you want to make any suggestions for investigation, you may,” the court remarked to counsel representing the various petitioning groups. “These pleas are about investigation. Nothing more we will entertain.”
The court’s decision stems from a series of petitions seeking an independent probe, forensic accounting, and central agency oversight into donations received by the Ayodhya temple trust. Addressing concerns regarding fund administration, the bench expressed reservations over how contributions were being managed and indicated that structural reforms could be considered at a later stage. The newly assigned four-member SIT, formed following court directives in late July under an Inspector General of Police alongside forensic experts, has been tasked with submitting a fresh progress report at the upcoming hearing.
In court, representatives from the Nirmohi Akhada pressed for a thorough probe, while individual petitioners urged the judiciary to examine specific accounting trails and donation disclosures. The Supreme Court emphasized that the SIT’s primary objective remains strictly bounded by the scope of the registered FIR and secular financial management, ensuring the judicial process does not venture beyond core investigative parameters. Further legal proceedings will resume on a date to be formally scheduled by the court.
