The Faizabad Bar Association in Uttar Pradesh has decided not to represent the accused in the alleged misappropriation case linked to the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Bar Association warned, at its general meeting on Monday, that any member who takes up the case on behalf of the accused will face a fine of 100,000 pounds. $5 lakh.
During the meeting, lawyers also demanded Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao – figures associated with the controversy – to leave Ayodhya within three days, threatening to lay siege to the city if they did not comply. Champat Rai was the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust and had recently resigned from the post along with Mishra, another trustee.
This move by the Bar Association reflects its decision taken in 2005 when it refused to represent the accused in the Ram Mandir terrorist attack case. “The theft of temple offerings has deeply hurt our sentiments,” said Shailendra Jaiswal, secretary of the Bar Association. He added, “All the lawyers in Faizabad agreed not to defend the arrested defendants.”
A video of Kalika Prasad Mishra, president of the Bar Association, went viral after the decision. “No lawyer will represent the accused in the case and if anyone does, a fine will be imposed on them $5 lakhs will be imposed on them,” he can be heard saying in the clip, while lawyers around him applauded at the announcement.
The President of the Bar Association and its general body have finalized this decision, and more strategy is planned in the coming days.
The court will move under Section 156(3) seeking registration of a case against Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, and also seek a CBI inquiry into the case.
This development comes amid an ongoing investigation under the supervision of the investigation team into allegations of theft or irregularities of temple funds in Ayodhya. Eight people have been arrested in the case so far. Police also recorded Champat Rai’s statement after his resignation from the temple trust.
What are the claims of theft of donations?
Allegations of irregularities in the donation fund surfaced earlier this month when a Samajwadi MLA said that between $Rs 7-7.5 crore donations were stolen or embezzled. Other opposition leaders quickly joined the chorus and made even greater demands.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal even said that many valuables donated to Lord Ram were stolen. “Diamonds and precious stones offered by devotees to God have been stolen. $200 crore cash was stolen and even 200 kg silver was stolen,” he said last week during his visit to Ayodhya.
Read also: ‘False narrative’, Champat Rai’s aide arrested, Babri Masjid question: How the row over Ram temple donations escalated
Likewise, 70 kilos of silver and 1,250 kilos of gold $Rs 200 crore in cash stolen, as it seeks accountability from the government over the alleged donation row in Ayodhya.
However, the Ram Temple Foundation clarified over the weekend that the devotees’ donation was safe and measured. In a press release published by the Trust, the temple authority said it was “shocked, pained and deeply saddened by the events that have come to light at Shri Ram Temple (Ayodhya) over the past few days.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to urgently hear a petition seeking an investigation into the allegations and said the matter would be listed for hearing after the summer recess.
