The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh announced on Saturday, 13 June 2026 that the state government has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine alleged financial irregularities in donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The move comes on the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and in response to a formal request from the Trust itself.

What the government announced

The official post from the Chief Minister's Office stated: 'मुख्यमंत्री @myogiadityanath जी के निर्देश पर एवं श्रीराम जन्मभूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र ट्रस्ट के अनुरोध के क्रम में ट्रस्ट द्वारा प्राप्त दान राशि में हुई कथित वित्तीय अनियमितता के संबंध में शासन द्वारा तीन सदस्यीय विशेष जांच दल (SIT) का गठन किया गया है।' — meaning: 'On the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and pursuant to a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the government has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) regarding alleged financial irregularities in donation amounts received by the Trust.'

The SIT comprises Vijay Vishwas Pant, IAS, Divisional Commissioner Lucknow; Kiran S, IPS, Inspector General of Range; and Neel Ratan, Special Secretary, Finance Department. The multi-departmental composition — spanning civil administration, law enforcement, and fiscal oversight — signals a broad-based inquiry.

Context

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was notified by the Uttar Pradesh government in February 2020, following the Supreme Court's November 2019 verdict directing the formation of a body to manage the Ram Janmabhoomi site and oversee temple construction in Ayodhya. Since its constitution, the Trust has received large-scale private donations from across the country for the construction and development of the Ram Temple complex.

The probe is described as pertaining to 'alleged' (kathit) irregularities, indicating that the inquiry is at a preliminary stage and no findings have been established.

Policy backdrop

Constituting SITs is an established administrative mechanism in Uttar Pradesh for examining allegations involving public or semi-public institutions. The inclusion of a senior IAS officer, a police IG, and a Finance Department special secretary reflects standard practice for probes that may touch on both fiduciary and criminal dimensions.

The fact that the Trust itself requested the inquiry is significant: it suggests the body sought an independent state-level examination rather than waiting for allegations to escalate. This positions the probe as both an accountability measure and a reputational safeguard for the Trust.

Stakeholders and impact

The most directly affected stakeholders are the millions of donors — individuals, organisations, and religious bodies — who contributed to the Trust's corpus for the Ram Temple project. Any confirmed irregularities could raise questions about fiduciary governance of one of India's most high-profile religious construction projects.

Trust officials and the broader temple administration in Ayodhya will also come under scrutiny during the SIT's work. The state government's swift response, framed as acting on the Trust's own request, is intended to demonstrate transparency in the management of a nationally sensitive project.

What's next

The SIT's mandate, timeline, and terms of reference have not been publicly detailed as of the announcement. The next key milestone will be the submission of the SIT's report to the state government, after which authorities may issue further orders regarding the Trust's accounts or administration.

The outcome of this probe is likely to be watched closely given the Ram Temple's national prominence and the scale of public donations involved.