The Faizabad Bar Association on Monday resolved that none of its members would represent the eight accused arrested in the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple, warning that any lawyer violating the decision would face a penalty of Rs 5 lakh.
The resolution was adopted at the association's general body meeting, a day after lawyers indicated they were unlikely to appear for the accused, saying the alleged theft of temple offerings had deeply hurt their sentiments.
Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said, "The sentiments of all of us have been hurt by the theft of temple offerings. The lawyers of Faizabad have agreed not to plead on behalf of the arrested accused." According to the resolution passed by the Bar Association, any advocate appearing on behalf of the accused would be liable to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
During Monday's meeting, lawyers also demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, all associated with the management of the Ram Temple but not named as accused in the FIR, "must leave" Ayodhya.
They warned that if the trio did not leave the city within three days, Ayodhya would be blockaded and no one would be allowed to enter.
The Bar Association recalled taking a similar stand in 2005 following the terrorist attack on the then makeshift Ram Temple, when its members had decided not to defend the accused in that case.
The eight arrested accused -- Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav -- were associated with counting cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram Temple.
They were arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement and were remanded to judicial custody till June 29.
As part of the ongoing investigation, police teams on Sunday conducted simultaneous searches at the residences of all eight accused.