Ram Mandir embezzlement case: SC seeks probe status report from U.P.

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 13, 2026) directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to file a status report on the ongoing probe into the Ram Temple donations’ embezzlement case, and sought the stands of the State and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on petitions seeking to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Also read: Ram temple donations ‘theft’ row | Highlights

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant agreed with an oral request made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for both the Union and Uttar Pradesh government, to not issue formal judicial notice to them. The court confined itself to issuing a formal judicial notice only to the Trust.

Report to be submitted in sealed cover

Mr. Mehta said he was already present in the court room and representing the State and the Union of India. The top law officer offered to submit a status report on the investigation into the case in a sealed cover. He said the State had already constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the probe was well underway with arrests made.

Acquiescing, the Bench said the status report should contain the details of the composition of the SIT and must be filed on July 20, the next date of hearing.

The court asked petitioners, who tried to make preliminary oral submissions, to keep the powder dry for bytes outside the court room.

RJD MP Sudhakar Singh’s petition

The court was hearing separate petitions seeking a CBI investigation and protection of electronic evidence in the Ram temple donations’ embezzlement case. A petition filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Sudhakar Singh to provide and publish complete financial details of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, including foreign contributions, had sought the court to direct the Trust to prepare and produce a complete statement of cash donations, bank transfers, digital payments, foreign contributions, gold, silver and other valuables, together with the particulars of their accounting, custody and utilisation since its inception.

Another petition filed by Supreme Court advocate N.K. Goswami has sought the protection of electronic evidence like CCTV footage which could be “quietly lost”, erased, overwritten or corrupted in the coming days.

The petitions have urged the court to order the preservation of physical, electronic and digital records, including books of accounts, cash books, ledgers, vouchers, bank records, UPI and other digital payment records, CCTV footage, electronic devices, servers, emails and every other record relating to the receipt, custody, accounting and utilisation of donations and offerings received by the Trust in order to ensure that no material evidence was destroyed, altered or tampered with during the course of investigation.

The MP had submitted that it was of “exceptional public importance” that the truth came out in the case. “The preservation of public confidence in one of the most revered religious institutions of the country, and the need for constitutional safeguards to ensure that the ongoing investigation into allegations concerning the handling of devotees’ offerings must be fair, independent and inspire the confidence of the nation,” the petition said.