The alleged embezzlement of donations made by devotees at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has taken a legal turn, with a local court sending all eight accused into 14-day judicial custody while the Ayodhya Bar Association announced none of its members would represent the accused during the proceedings.
The eight men and women were brought to court after a three-day police remand. After the court hearing, the court remanded all eight men and women to judicial custody as it probes the alleged diversion of temple donations.
The case generated widespread public interest and political debate which led to the resignation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trust member Anil Mishra. The trust has guaranteed that it will conduct a fair and transparent investigation and is in complete agreement with the authorities.
In a parallel move, the Ayodhya Bar Association has made a strong resolution to refuse any lawyer to represent any of the accused. Speaking after a meeting of the Faizabad Advocates' Association, Bar Association President Kalika Prasad Mishra said that no lawyer associated with the Bar would appear on behalf of the accused. Any advocate violating this resolution would be fined ₹5 lakh.
The decision followed an emergency meeting to decide whether local advocates should defend those arrested in the case. The misuse of donations by devotees, according to members of the association, had badly hurt public sentiment and the legal fraternity took an extraordinary action.
The Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal had said that most lawyers were in favor of refusing legal representation to the accused. The alleged scam has turned Ayodhya into one of the country’s most revered religious destinations and several senior advocates were demanding strict legal action.
According to the FIR, registered on 25 June under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the accused misappropriated between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore in donations received at the Ram Temple. The allegations were first raised by former Samajwadi Party MLA Pawan Pandey, after which the Uttar Pradesh Government formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a comprehensive probe after a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Trust.
Police have already conducted searches at the homes of the accused and seized documents and electronic evidence. They are also investigating financial records, donation collection procedures and how temple funds move to identify the extent of the alleged embezzlement, officials said.
The investigation is ongoing and the police will seek more custodial interrogation if necessary. All of the evidence will be thoroughly studied before filing the final chargesheet, officials said. The case is closely watched across the country because of the Ram Temple and the huge number of donations made every year by the devotees.
