₹5 lakh fine if Ram temple donation case accused represented: UP bar association to its lawyers

THe Faizabad debar connexion in Uttar Pradesh has decided non to correspond those accused in the alleged misapplication of funds linked to the Ram temple in Ayodhya. In a general body meeting on Monday, the Bar warned that any member who takes up the case for the accused will face a fine of ₹5 lakh.During the meeting, lawyers also demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao—figures linked to the controversy—leave Ayodhya within three days, threatening to blockade the city if they did not comply. Champat Rai was the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, and recently stepped down from the post alongside Mishra, another trustee.This bar association's move echoes its 2005 decision when it refused to represent those accused in the Ram Mandir terrorist attack case. "The theft of temple offerings has deeply hurt our sentiments," said Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal. “All lawyers in Faizabad have agreed not to defend the arrested accused.”A video of Kalika Prasad Mishra, the President of the Bar association, went viral following the decision. “No lawyer will represent the accused in the case and if anyone does, a fine of ₹5 lakh will be imposed on them,” he could be heard saying in the clip, as lawyers around him clapped at the announcement. The Bar Association president and its general body have finalised this decision, with further strategy to be planned in the coming days.It will move the court under Section 156(3) to seek the registration of a case against Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao, and also seeks a CBI inquiry in the case.The development comes amid an ongoing SIT-monitored probe into the allegations of theft or irregularities of the temple funds in Ayodhya. Eight arrests have been made in the case so far, and Champat Rai's statement was also recorded by police following his resignation from the temple trust.What are the donation theft claims?Claims of irregularities with the donation fund surfaced earlier this month when a Samajwadi MLA said that between ₹7-7.5 crore in donations had been stolen or embezzled. Other Opposition leaders soon joined the chorus and made even bigger claims.Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal even said that several valuables donated for Lord Ram were stolen. "Diamonds and precious stones that devotees offered to God have been stolen, ₹200 crore in cash has been stolen, and even 200 kilograms of silver have been stolen," he said last week during his Ayodhya visit.Also Read: 'False narrative', arrest of Champat Rai's aide, a Babri Masjid question: How Ram Temple donations row escalatedSimilarly, 70 kilos of silver, 1,250 kilos of gold and ₹200 crore in cash were stolen, as she sought accountability from the government over the alleged donation row in Ayodhya.However, the Ram temple trust clarified over the weekend that donation by the devotees was safe and accounted for. In a press release posted by the Trust, the temple body said it was "shocked, hurt, and deeply saddened by the incidents that have come to light in Shri Ram Temple (Ayodhya) over the past few days".Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to urgently hear a plea seeking a probe into the allegations and said the matter will be listed for hearing after the summer break.