The Faizabad Bar Association in Uttar Pradesh has resolved not to represent any of the accused in the alleged Ram Temple donation embezzlement case. During a general body meeting held on Monday, the association also announced that any lawyer who chooses to defend the accused will be fined ₹5 lakh.
The association further demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, all linked to the controversy, leave Ayodhya within three days. It warned that if they failed to do so, lawyers would launch an agitation and blockade the city. Rai, the former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, recently resigned from his post along with fellow trustee Anil Mishra.
The decision mirrors the Bar Association’s stand in 2005, when it had refused to represent those accused in the Ram Janmabhoomi terror attack case.
“The theft of temple donations has deeply hurt our sentiments,” Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said. “All lawyers in Faizabad have unanimously decided not to appear for the arrested accused.”
A video of Bar Association president Kalika Prasad Mishra announcing the resolution has since gone viral on social media.
“No lawyer will represent the accused in this case. If anyone does, a fine of ₹5 lakh will be imposed,” Mishra is heard saying in the video, drawing applause from those present.
The association said the resolution has been formally approved by its president and general body, with further action likely to be announced in the coming days.
It also plans to move the court under Section 156(3) seeking the registration of an FIR against Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, while demanding that the case be handed over to the CBI for investigation.
The development comes as a Special Investigation Team continues to probe allegations of financial irregularities involving donations made to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Eight people have been arrested so far, while police have also recorded Champat Rai’s statement following his resignation from the temple trust.
What are the donation embezzlement allegations?
The controversy began earlier this month after a Samajwadi Party MLA alleged that donations worth between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore had either been stolen or embezzled. Several Opposition leaders later raised similar allegations, with some claiming the scale of the irregularities was much larger.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged during a visit to Ayodhya that valuables donated by devotees had also gone missing.
“Diamonds and precious stones offered to Lord Ram have been stolen, ₹200 crore in cash has disappeared, and even 200 kilograms of silver have been stolen,” Kejriwal claimed.
Other Opposition leaders also alleged that around 70 kilograms of silver, 1,250 kilograms of gold and ₹200 crore in cash had gone missing, demanding accountability from the government over the alleged donation scam.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, however, rejected the allegations over the weekend, maintaining that all donations remain safe and properly accounted for.
In a statement, the Trust said it was “shocked, hurt and deeply saddened” by the controversy surrounding the temple over the past several days.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to urgently hear a petition seeking an independent probe into the allegations, stating that the matter would be listed after the summer vacation.
