Clarifying that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the allegations, the top court said that the petitioners could assist the proceedings on the same premise as the law permits victims of crime to assist the court.

The SC on Nov 2 closed the proceedings on a batch of petitions seeking independent probe into Ram temple donation embezzlement case.

The plea questioned whether the temple had been built on the same land that the Supreme Court had identified in its judgment.