SC declines urgent hearing on PIL over Ram Temple donations
The Supreme Court on Monday declined an urgent hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a court-monitored probe and forensic audit into the handling of donations and offerings received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust over alleged financial irregularities linked to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. When the matter was mentioned before a Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu, the PIL litigant pressed for an urgent listing, saying the allegations raised in the plea were “very serious” and expressing apprehensions over the manner in which the state government was dealing with the matter. Questioning the urgency, the Justice Sundresh-led Bench asked, “What’s the urgency?” before directing that the plea be listed immediately after the court reopens post-summer vacation. The writ petition, filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami in his personal capacity, seeks directions for the preservation of records and evidence relating to donations made at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and greater transparency in the administration of temple offerings. According to the plea, offerings made to a deity in a public …