New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (August 17) backed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the alleged embezzlement of donation funds at the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. A bench head by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asserted that the panel is accountable to the apex court.
The SC made this observation while hearing a plea on the alleged donation theft at the Ram Mandir. “SIT is constituted by us. It is answerable and accountable to us,” the top court remarks when a lawyer cast aspersions on the trust and the SIT and seeks the dissolution of the investigation team.
The Supreme Court also allowed the petitioners and other bona fide public-spirited individuals to suggest specific aspects of the alleged financial irregularities that should be thoroughly investigated by the SIT. The bench directed that such suggestions be submitted to the Solicitor General’s office, which will forward them to the SIT for objective consideration during the probe.
“A status report has been filed. All stakeholders, petitioners, and public spirited persons are allowed to give suggestions to the office of the Solicitor General, who is appearing for the state and SIT, These suggestions shall be duly considered by the SIT,” the SC bench observed.
“We will take the probe to a logical conclusion,” the apex court remarked.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta , representing the state and the SIT, submitted that an interim probe status report has been filed. Meawnhiel advocate Jaya Sukin submitted that petitioners do not trust the SIT.also demanded to dissolve the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The SIT, constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the alleged donation fraud, had proposed several recommendations, including pocketless uniforms for the counting staff and the videography of the process. It also proposed weekly audits for the counting of donations.
On July 19, the SIT submitted its status report in a sealed cover to the Supreme Court. The matter surfaced in the first week of June, and soon it snowballed into a political controversy with the Opposition targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party governments in the Centre and Uttar Pradesh.