Lucknow: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has rejected allegations that retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra, who was appointed the first CEO of the Ram Temple, did not participate in the interview during the selection process. In a statement issued on Tuesday, trust general secretary Swami Govind Dev Giri said Mishra appeared for the interview on 11 August 2026 and that the allegations were factually incorrect.
The clarification came after former IPS officer Rajesh Pandey, who was also in the fray for the post, said he did not see Mishra at the interview venue during his allotted time slot on 11 August.
This led to social media claims that Mishra had not appeared for the interview, with users questioning how he was selected. ThePrint has learnt that senior central government officials asked the trust to issue a statement to put an end to the controversy.
According to the statement, a search committee was constituted on 6 July 2026 and received 5,585 applications for the post. A multi-stage evaluation was conducted in Delhi/NCR, Pune and Sambalpur using AI-assisted screening and manual assessment by experts.
Following the evaluation, 16 candidates were shortlisted for the final round and appeared for in-person interviews in Ayodhya on 11 and 12 August.
The trust said Mishra participated in the first session on 11 August. The search committee submitted its final report and recommendations to the trust on 1 September.
On 2 September, the trust publicly announced the three candidates recommended for the post: Jeetendra Mishra, Sanjay Pratap Singh Vishwas Rao and Shruti Bhardwaj. Mishra was subsequently announced as the temple’s first chief executive officer (CEO) the same day.
“His inclusion among the top three recommended candidates is documented evidence of his participation, evaluation and merit-based selection,” the statement said.
Mishra, 60, has served as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations), commanding officer of a fighter squadron, Chief Test Pilot at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), Air Officer Commanding of two frontline air bases, Director (Operational Planning and Assessment Group), Principal Director (ASR), Commandant ASTE and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organisation and Training).
Also Read: Why Ram Temple Trust chose a military veteran as its first CEO & who are its 3 new members
Podcast interview sparked controversy
The controversy began after Pandey discussed the CEO selection process in a podcast interview.
Pandey said 16 candidates had appeared for interviews, including two IAS officers and nine naval personnel. He also said he had not seen Mishra during the interview process.
However, Pandey did not claim that Mishra had failed to appear for the interview. Following the podcast, social media posts alleged that Mishra had been selected without being interviewed and suggested he had secured the post through influential backing.
Pandey later clarified on X that he had never claimed to be among the top three candidates shortlisted for the post. He said he had also made it clear during the podcast that he had received no official information from the trust about the shortlisted candidates and that the discussion had reached him through newspapers and social media.
“I only said that I did not see retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra at the venue during my interview slot on 11 August. This does not mean that Jeetendra Mishra was not interviewed,” Pandey said in his post.
Former IPS officer and activist Amitabh Thakur had also written to the temple trust over the controversy. He said that if the allegations were found to be true, they would raise serious questions not only about the appointment but also the entire selection process.
Thakur had warned that if he did not receive a satisfactory response, he would consider legal remedies, including challenging the selection process and appointment before an appropriate judicial or statutory forum.