Ram Temple funds theft: Ayodhya bar association to fine ₹5 lakh to lawyers representing accused

Ram Temple donation theft: The Faizabad Bar Association in Ayodhya on Monday resolved that any of its members representing the eight accused arrested in the alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations will face a penalty of ₹5 lakh. The decision was taken at the association's general body meeting after lawyers expressed that their sentiments were hurt by the alleged theft of temple offerings.

On the same day, the Supreme Court refused an urgent hearing on a plea seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Sheel Nagu said the matter would be listed after the summer break, observing, "Heavens are not going to fall… What is the urgency."

At the Bar Association meeting, lawyers also demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, all associated with the management of the temple but not named as accused in the FIR, "must leave" Ayodhya. They warned that if the three did not leave within three days, the entire city of Ayodhya would be blockaded and no one would be allowed to enter.

The bar had taken a similar decision in 2005 after the terrorist attack on the then makeshift Ram temple, when lawyers decided not to defend the accused.

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Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said, "The sentiments of all of us have been hurt by the theft of temple offerings. The lawyers of Faizabad have agreed not to plead on behalf of the arrested accused." 

The eight accused are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav. They were associated with counting cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram temple.

They were arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement and remanded to judicial custody till June 29. On Sunday, police teams also carried out simultaneous searches at the residences of all eight accused as part of the ongoing investigation.

Before the Supreme Court, the plea was filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav. It sought a CBI-led multi-disciplinary special investigation team to probe the alleged financial irregularities and other purported illegalities concerning the affairs and administration of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

The petition, which also called for an FIR in the matter, sought directions to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the temple trust to constitute and operationalise regulatory, supervisory and audit mechanisms to safeguard public interest and maintain the confidence of millions of devotees and donors.

The plea said, "Whether or not the reports regarding missing funds and other alleged irregularities concerning the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust are ultimately found to be true, such reports have caused deep concern among the generations that struggled for the restoration of the glory of Ayodhya." 

It also alleged that the SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government had started its inquiry without the registration of an FIR or any regular criminal case.

According to the petition, reports of alleged missing funds and other purported irregularities involving the temple trust should be independently verified through a professional investigation by a unified agency with the expertise, resources and institutional mechanisms needed for complex financial and criminal investigations. 

It said, "Such an inquiry would inspire greater public confidence than a preliminary probe conducted by a special investigation team (SIT) comprising administrative officers who may not possess specialised credentials in criminal investigation."

The plea said the issues involved not only concerned the possible commission of cognisable offences but also directly affected the faith, sentiments and confidence of countless devotees and the public.