'These people who were running the show at the Ram temple have something to hide, therefore they are not ready for a CBI investigation.'
The Faizabad Bar Association in Uttar Pradesh has decided not to represent the accused in the alleged embezzlement of funds linked to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Key Points
- 'Everything is available on CCTV, the world can see who is swindling the offerings.'
- 'We want the CBI to take over the case.'
- 'The big fish will be caught only when the CBI does an investigation.'
The 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 offerings within the premise of Ram Janmabhoomi temple has deeply hurt our sentiments," Bar Association Secretary Shailendra Jaiswal tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff. "No lawyer from our bar association will defend the arrested accused."
The Bar Association has warned that if Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, who were associated with the management of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple (but not mentioned as accused in the FIR) did not leave Ayodhya within three days, the entire city would be blocked and no one would be allowed to enter.
Why have you decided not to represent the Ram Janmabhoomi theft accused in court?
This is a matter of faith. We believe in the Hindu religion and Ayodhya is the place where Lord Ram was born.
And here they are stealing from the same temple where he was born.
If the ones who were supposed to protect the Ram Janmabhoomi temple from theft themselves turned thieves, how can anyone fight their legal case in court?
So no lawyer from Ayodhya will represent them in court?
No lawyer from Ayodhya will fight the case for them. We will not work for them, but yes, we all are ready to fight the case against them.
Aren't you thus declaring them guilty before the trial has even begun? What about the saying not guilty until proved by court?
These things are okay, but we do not want to represent them. We want the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to take over the case.
There was an SIT (Special Investigation Team) inquiry into the case but that report has not been made public yet.
The Ayodhya local police is under a lot of pressure. And most importantly, let me remind you today if you see the Ram Janmabhoomi temple standing in Ayodhya it is because of our fellow lawyer Umesh Pandey who filed a petition in court to open the Babri Masjid locks, which was accepted by the court in 1986.
And it was our lawyers association of Ayodhya which supported him full-heartedly so we are bound to feel very hurt because of this theft.
Why are you demanding Rs 5 lakh as a fine from anyone who wants to represent the accused?
It is the resolution passed by our Bar Association that any advocate appearing on behalf of the accused would be liable to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh. We will also revoke the membership of that lawyer from our Bar Association.
If lawyers take such a stance against the accused before the trial is conducted, how will justice work in our country? This is like declaring people guilty before a trial.
As a journalist you must have seen those videos where these accused are seen swindling money from the Ram Janmabhoomi temple premises. These proofs are evidence. What is the case left to fight for the accused?
Everything is available on CCTV, the world can see who is swindling the offerings.
Do you think these eight are the only culprits?
Only the small fish have been caught in the Ram Janmabhoomi temple theft.
Check the profile of the people who have been arrested.
Some are drivers, milkman or ordinary servants -- all the big fish involved in the theft have not been arrested yet.
The big fish will be caught only when the CBI does an investigation into the Ayodhya temple theft.
The SIT might have named these big fish, but then we don't know whether that report has been suppressed due to political pressure or not.
Champat Rai owned up moral responsibility and resigned as general secretary, Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Champat Rai must not get undue benefit of not being named as an accused just because he has resigned as general secretary of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
There was no reason for him to say that the CBI is not required to investigate this case.
Let the CBI do the investigation and we will all cooperate, he should have said that. If a man is innocent then he is ready for any investigation in the world.
These people who were running the show at the Ram temple have something to hide, therefore they are not ready for a CBI investigation.
Are you not happy with the SIT investigation which was ordered by the Uttar Pradesh government?
If the SIT had made their report public there would have been no problem from our side.
The problem is that no one knows what was in the SIT report that was submitted to the state government.
Since they are not revealing it, we want a CBI inquiry into this theft case. We do not trust the local police of Ayodhya at all.
How many people do you think are involved in this theft?
There are big fish involved in the theft. Right now they are only catching the small fish.
Till the time the CBI does not investigate this case we will never know the truth as to who all are involved in the theft on the Ram Janmabhoomi temple premises.
