‘Heavens are not going to fall… What is the urgency’; SC in Ayodhya fund fraud case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court refused to urgently consider the pleas related to the Ayodhya Ram temple scam case. The court replied that the heavens are not going to fall if the case is considered when the court resumes after the summer vacation. The Supreme Court refused to consider the plea that there was fraud in the donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirthakshetra Trust and that a special investigation should be conducted by the CBI in this regard.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Sheel Nagu rejected the request for urgent listing of the petitions. The bench made it clear that the petitions can be considered immediately only if the registry of the court and the concerned authorities are convinced of the urgent nature of the matter. The bench informed that the plea will be considered between July 12 to 17.

Stating that they do not have faith in the investigation being conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the donation scam in Ayodhya, advocates Advocate Ajay Kumar Rai, Advocate Dinesh Kumar Yadav, Advocate N K Goswami and others approached the Supreme Court. The plea alleged that crucial evidence was not being properly preserved. The petition was filed while the SIT (Special Investigation Team) investigation into the irregularities was in progress.

As part of the investigation, the police have recorded the statement of Champat Rai, former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust. As part of the further investigation, the statements of other senior trust officials including trustee Anil Mishra will be recorded.