Nothing can shame people unfazed by Ram temple donation theft: Allahabad High Court

Addressing the alleged misappropriation of donations from the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Allahabad High Court Judge Atul Sreedharan observed that nothing could embarrass those who were not affected by this development.

The judge also recommended the death penalty for offenses under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Offering strong observations on the recent bulldozing actions of the Uttar Pradesh government, Justice Sreedharan also criticized the systemic corruption plaguing Indian institutions and noted that the recent incident of “theft” of donations at the Ram temple represented “a rarity of the integrity of Indians”.

Elaborating on this issue, he added that the average Indian has normalized corruption and no longer considers it wrong unless he is caught.

He stated that even India’s ranking 91st among 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2025 report “does not embarrass us”.

Referring to the “donation-theft” debate, Justice Sreedharan said: “The recent controversies over the theft of donations from the Ram temple are the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. Nothing can embarrass the people who remain untouched by the theft in the Ram temple, which shows the lowest point of Indian integrity.”

Expressing concern about how deeply corruption has become normalized in society, the judge went so far as to suggest that the State should consider amending the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 to introduce the death penalty for convicts.

Harsh observations were made in Justice Sreedharan’s 51-page opinion in the split verdict, which dealt with the issue of “bulldozer justice” and demolition of houses belonging to accused persons under the guise of violating municipal laws.

Setting the context for these demolitions, the judge said the demolition of a house in the immediate aftermath of a crime was to satiate the “perceived bloodlust” of a society fed largely on a base diet of “bulldozer justice”.

He emphasized that despite the Supreme Court decisions, demolitions continue with impunity “as if these decisions did not exist or as if the state was sure that the violation of the law imposed by the country’s highest court would not bring any negative consequences to them.”

Moreover, while examining how unauthorized structures came into being in the first place, Justice Sreedharan noted that no residential building came into existence overnight.

“The authorities are tasked with ensuring that such structures are not deliberately turned a blind eye due to political or bureaucratic support from the builder or due to fraud,” he said.

The court also observed that the creation of unsuitable houses was facilitated by dishonest officials who took bribes from builders and exposed the ultimate buyer to law enforcement and immediate eviction decades later.

In this regard, Justice Sreedharan categorically stated that the State is a particeps criminis (complicit) in actively aiding the violators by turning a blind eye and providing sovereign amenities such as water and electricity to these structures.

He also said this “collective lack of integrity” affects every institution, including development authorities.

Justice Sreedharan warned that rampant corruption in the country would lead to illegal concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, “widening the gap between the rich and the poor” and “a scenario of civil unrest in the coming days”.

Justice Sreedharan urged the State to take extreme legal measures if it truly wanted to clean up the system.

“If the state is serious, truly serious, about reducing corruption and saving India from the miserable swamp of dishonesty and complete lack of integrity, it should consider amending the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 to include death penalty for those convicted of corruption,” he said.