Allahabad HC declines out-of-turn hearing on plea seeking probe into Ram Temple offerings row

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court on Monday refused to accord an out-of-turn hearing on a plea seeking an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the management of offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, observing there was no urgency in the matter.

The plea is listed at serial number 392 among 529 fresh cases before the Lucknow bench of the court on Monday.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Pankaj Bhatia and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai

said it was already dealing with a large number of cases and there was no occasion to hear the matter out of turn.

The bench also orally observed that since the state government had already taken cognisance of the issue, there was no urgency at this stage.

Petitioner Mohit Ashok has sought an independent probe into the alleged misappropriation of funds received as offerings at the Ram Temple. He has also sought a direction for an audit of the matter by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

The petition alleges financial irregularities in the handling of donations made by devotees and seeks judicial intervention to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of temple funds.

On June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government had constituted an SIT following a request from the temple trust following allegations of misappropriation of donations received at the Ayodhya Ram temple.

The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan.