The Supreme Court on Monday, November 2, closed a batch of petitions that had sought a court-monitored, CBI-led probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, after the State of Uttar Pradesh informed the Court that a chargesheet has been filed in the case, Bar and Bench and Verdictum reported.

Source: Bar and Bench

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the Judicial Magistrate concerned to proceed in accordance with law. Because an element of public interest is involved, the Court granted the petitioners liberty to assist the magistrate's court, on the same footing as the law allows a victim of a crime to assist the court. It clarified that it has expressed no opinion on the merits of the allegations, which remain allegations at this stage.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State, told the Court that the alleged theft occurred at the time of counting, by the individuals who were counting the donations, and that CCTV footage is available only for 45 days because of its auto-erasing technology.

Source: Verdictum

How the probe unfolded

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team on June 13, 2026, following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust after allegations of misappropriation of donations. The SIT originally comprised Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan, and was later reconstituted on the Supreme Court's directions.

On July 13, 2026, the Supreme Court issued notice on the pleas and directed the SIT to submit a status report, and later directed it to include a forensic investigative auditor. The SIT's analysis of CCTV footage and records identified 105 instances of unauthorised removal of currency and suspicious deposits linked to eight accused. On September 21, the State told the Court the investigation was substantially complete and the chargesheet would follow within days.

The petition batch included pleas by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, petitioner-in-person Ajay Kumar Rai, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Sudhakar Singh and the Hindu Dharma Parishad, IANS reported ahead of Monday's hearing. With the Supreme Court's monitoring now ended, the case proceeds before the trial court, where the petitioners may assist.