SIT To File Chargesheet By Sep 25 'Ram Temple Donation Case'

The court-appointed Special Investigation Team probing the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya will file its first chargesheet on or before September 25, the Supreme Court was told on Monday. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that the statutory 90-day period from the first arrest in the case would lapse soon.

"Ninety days from the date of the first arrest are going to be over on



September 25, so we will have to file the chargesheet, otherwise, they (the accused) will get default bail," Mehta said. 

The top court also perused a detailed status report submitted by the SIT in a sealed cover. Under Section 167 (2) of the CrPC, an accused becomes entitled to grant of statutory bail if the probe agency fails to file the chargesheet in the trial court within the stipulated period of either 60 or 90 days. Section 187 of the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) replaces Section 167(2) of the erstwhile CrPC.