The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench has declined to entertain two fresh Public Interest Litigations (PILs) seeking independent investigations into allegations relating to donations made to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The Court held that since a petition raising substantially similar issues is already pending before the Supreme Court, parallel proceedings before the High Court were not warranted.
Background of the Case
The two PILs sought different forms of inquiry into the allegations concerning donations, gifts, and offerings made by devotees at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
One petition requested the constitution of an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT), preferably headed by a retired High Court judge. The other sought the appointment of a Judicial Commission headed by retired judges and also prayed for an independent inquiry, audit of the Trust's funds, and interim administrative measures.
A Division Bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla noted that the same subject matter is already pending before the Supreme Court in a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.
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Referring to its earlier orders passed on July 6 and July 7 in similar PILs, the Bench observed:
“We have already noticed that same subject matter is pending before Hon'ble the Supreme Court... therefore, there is no reason as to why we should start parallel proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.”
The Court also recorded that the reliefs sought in the fresh petitions were substantially similar to those already placed before the Supreme Court and therefore did not justify separate proceedings before the High Court.
Finding that the Supreme Court is already seized of the issue, the Allahabad High Court declined to entertain both PILs and disposed of them without examining the merits of the allegations.
The Bench held that initiating parallel proceedings would not be appropriate while the Apex Court is considering the same subject matter.
Case Details
Case Title: Gandhivadi Adhivakta Vichar Manch v. State of U.P. and 4 Others; Moti Lal Yadav v. Union of India and 5 Others
Case Number: PIL No. 586 of 2026; PIL No. 591 of 2026
Judge: Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla
Decision Date: July 7, 2026
