Allahabad HC judge suggests death penalty for corruption, cites Ram Mandir donation theft allegations
Justice Atul Sreedharan of the Allahabad High Court has said that people who remain unfazed by the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir
Justice Atul Sreedharan of the Allahabad High Court has said that people who remain unfazed by the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya are "beyond shaming" and suggested that the government consider introducing capital punishment for those convicted of corruption in the most serious cases, PTI reported. Also Read | Ram Mandir donation theft: SC directs UP govt to report on SIT feasibility The remarks were made in Justice Sreedharan's 51-page opinion on what he termed “Bulldozer Justice”, in which he criticised the Uttar Pradesh government's practice of demolishing properties belonging to people accused of crimes under the guise of municipal code violations, according to LiveLaw.
While discussing what he described as a broader decline in institutional integrity, Justice Sreedharan referred to the alleged theft of funds for the Ram Mandir as the "last straw" and the "low point of Indian integrity." He said corruption had become so normalised that it was viewed as wrong only when those involved were caught. The judge also referred to India's ranking in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, saying it had failed to trigger public outrage or embarrassment. He suggested that, if the government is serious about tackling corruption, it should consider amending the Prevention of Corruption Act to provide for the death penalty in the gravest cases.
Also Read | Parliament Monsoon Session to begin today on a stormy note Justice Sreedharan on “Bulldozer Justice” Justice Sreedharan also criticised the practice of “Bulldozer Justice”, describing it as a response to what he called the public's appetite for spectacle. He observed that such demolitions have continued despite Supreme Court rulings on the issue and cited a couplet by Urdu poet Bashir Badr to illustrate how easily what takes years to build can be destroyed. The Ram Mandir donation controversy came to the fore on 7 June, when former Samajwadi Party minister Pawan Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore had been stolen from the temple in Ayodhya.
An FIR was subsequently registered, and eight people, including temple staff, were arrested in connection with the alleged theft. Also Read | Ayodhya donation theft row: SC seeks status report from SIT
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