Allahabad High Court to Hear PIL Seeking CBI Probe Into Alleged Embezzlement of Donation funds at Ayodhya Ram Mandir

A public interest litigation seeking a court-monitored CBI probe into alleged embezzlement of donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya is slated to come up before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on June 18, with the petitioner expected to make an urgent mention before the court seeking an early hearing.

Sources associated with the petitioner said the matter has could be taken up early on Thursday itself if the court considers the issues raised to be of national importance.

Filed by Lucknow-based advocate Mohit Ashok, the PIL seeks directions for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry, a forensic audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), and preservation of financial and electronic records relating to the management of donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

The petition relies on recent media reports and allegations made by a former accounts officer of the trust to contend that devotees' donations may have been systematically misappropriated over a period of time.

According to the petition, a June 8 report published by Dainik Jagran disclosed that donations deposited in temple donation boxes were allegedly embezzled by certain trust employees. The report, as reproduced in the PIL, stated that around four employees were identified and taken into police custody for questioning and that approximately Rs 5 lakh was recovered from a bank account linked to a trust employee. The petitioner claims that despite these developments, no independent probe has been ordered and no statutory audit has been announced.

The PIL also cites a June 9 interview allegedly given by Mahipal Singh, a former Head of Accounts (Lekha Prabhari) of the trust, to a YouTube channel. Singh, who served in the position between January 2021 and March-April 2022, is stated to have alleged that irregularities in the handling of donations were brought to the notice of senior functionaries but were not acted upon. The petition reproduces his claims that cash collections were allegedly under-reported in vouchers, resulting in discrepancies between actual collections and recorded figures.

According to the PIL, Singh further alleged that he had discovered a cash box containing Rs 5 lakh more than the amount reflected in the corresponding voucher and had reported the discrepancy to senior trust officials. The petition claims that instead of an inquiry being initiated, he was removed from the accounting process. It also refers to his allegation that seven to eight months of CCTV footage were deleted before his replacement took charge and that gold and silver donations stored in multiple chest boxes were removed without corresponding accounting entries.

The petitioner has argued that these allegations, together with reports of arrests and recovery of funds, point to possible systemic failures in the management and audit of donations received by the trust. He has questioned how such alleged irregularities could have continued despite periodic internal audits and has sought an independent examination of the trust's financial processes.

Describing the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust as a public trust constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict and a subsequent Government of India notification, the PIL argues that any alleged misappropriation of donations affects the faith and trust of devotees across the country and therefore warrants judicial scrutiny.

Among the reliefs sought are directions for a CBI investigation into the alleged embezzlement of cash, gold and silver donations, a special forensic audit by the CAG, preservation of CCTV footage and financial records, and the formulation of a transparent standard operating procedure governing donation management at the temple.

Case Title: Mohit Ashok vs UOI