Ram Temple Trust To Hold Crucial July 6 Meet On Donation Scam, Rai & Mishra Resignations, SIT Report

Ayodhya: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will hold a crucial meeting on July 6 amid the ongoing controversy over the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram Temple, with the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr Anil Mishra and the Special Investigation Team's interim report set to dominate the agenda.

Meeting at Maniram Das Chhawani, 3 PM

According to a meeting notice issued by trust treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri, the meeting will begin at 3 pm at Maniram Das Chhawani. Besides considering the resignations of Rai and Mishra, the trust will discuss the SIT's findings on the counting and management of donations received through the temple's donation boxes.

The meeting will also take up future arrangements for temple management and approve the accounts and financial statements for the financial year 2025-26.

Show Cause Notices Likely for Rai & Mishra

This is the first formal meeting of the trust since allegations of theft and embezzlement of temple donations surfaced. Trust sources said Rai and Mishra are likely to be served show cause notices and asked to provide written and oral explanations before any decision is taken on their future.

Sources said the trust's bylaws do not permit action against any office bearer without first seeking an explanation and following due process. Any proposal to accept resignations or remove office bearers will require approval by the prescribed majority of trustees.

The meeting is also expected to consider names for filling vacant positions in the trust.

Trust President Hospitalised, Attendance Unclear

Questions remain over who will chair the meeting as trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, who is scheduled to preside over it, is currently admitted to a trauma centre in Lucknow. Though his condition has reportedly improved slightly, it is unclear whether he will attend.

The meeting notice has also attracted attention because it carries no physical or digital signature, despite mentioning that it was issued with the approval of the trust president. Earlier communications regarding the resignations of Rai and Mishra had also been issued without signatures.

The trust, which was constituted in February 2020 following the Supreme Court's November 2019 verdict in the Ayodhya title dispute, was tasked with overseeing the construction and management of the Ram temple. At its first meeting in New Delhi, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president, Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Champat Rai became general secretary and spiritual leader Govind Giri Maharaj was appointed treasurer. Former IAS officer Nripendra Misra, who served as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was named chairman of the temple construction committee.

The trust has 15 members, comprising 10 permanent trustees and five ex-officio members. However, one permanent seat has remained vacant since the death of Vimalendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, a member of Ayodhya's erstwhile royal family.

Among the permanent trustees are Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the senior-most seer associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement; Champat Rai, who has been the principal decision-maker in the trust's day-to-day affairs; and Dr Anil Mishra, an Ayodhya-based homeopathic doctor who has overseen the temple's administration.

Other permanent trustees include Govind Giri Maharaj, who manages the trust's finances; Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati of Prayagraj; Swami Vishwaprasannatheertha of Pejawar Math in Udupi; Haridwar-based seer Yugpurush Paramanand Giri Maharaj; and Mahant Dinendra Das of Ayodhya's Nirmohi Akhara, one of the original litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. RSS worker Krishna Mohan was inducted into the trust after the death of Dalit leader Kameshwar Chaupal, one of the first persons to lay a brick for the proposed Ram temple in 1989.

The trust also includes five ex-officio members representing the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government. These include Prashant Lokhande, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs; Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad; and Ayodhya District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi. Despite being members of the trust, none of the ex-officio members enjoys voting rights.

The trust's decision-making powers lie entirely with its permanent trustees. Any major decision, including the induction of new members or changes in the trust's structure, requires the support of a majority of the permanent members.