Ayodhya lawyers refuse to represent accused in Ram temple donation theft case

A group of lawyers in Ayodhya has unanimously decided not to defend eight individuals accused of stealing donations from the Ram Temple. The decision was announced by the Faizabad Bar Association, whose office-bearers said the lawyers' sentiments were hurt by the alleged theft of temple offerings.

Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said, 'Our sentiments have been hurt by the theft of temple offerings. The lawyers of Faizabad have agreed not to plead on behalf of the arrested accused.' He added that a final decision would be taken at a general body meeting expected on Monday.

Some lawyers expressed strong views against the accused. Advocate Vivek Kumar Singh suggested that the police should have first presented the accused to the public, as is done in West Bengal. Senior advocate Rajendra Chaudhary called for 'stern action' and mentioned the 'bulldozer policy'.

The eight accused—Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav—were tasked with counting cash and valuables donated to the temple. They were arrested after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) found evidence of misappropriation.

Police have recovered Rs 79.85 lakh so far. The case is registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to theft by a servant, criminal breach of trust, receiving stolen property, and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Simultaneous raids were conducted at the residences of the accused on Saturday, two days after they were remanded to judicial custody until June 29. Police are expected to seek custodial remand when the accused appear in court on Monday.