# Allahabad HC slams UP government for temple land takeover without payment 2026-08-18T03:47:43+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Allahabad High Court has criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for taking possession of a 1,512-square-metre plot of land belonging to the Sugriv Kila temple in Ayodhya for Ram Janmabhoomi Temple development without paying the full agreed amount. The court directed the state to deposit the unpaid Rs 1.21 crore along with 8 per cent annual interest. The order was passed on August 11 by the bench of Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary and Shekhar B. Saraf on a petition from Shri Thakur Ram Janki Sugrivji Virajman Mandir. The temple alleged that authorities persuaded it to sell the land for Rs 1.38 crore in December 2023, took possession immediately, but then failed to pay the Rs 1.21 crore land component. The state later changed its stand, claiming the land was Nazul or government land, and filed a civil suit seeking cancellation of the sale deed. The High Court termed the conduct "well orchestrated" and said the authorities had "fooled the petitioner to oust them from the temple land". It directed the trial court to expedite the ownership dispute and conclude proceedings preferably within one year. The State must deposit the amount in a nationalised bank within four weeks. ## Coverage - thehindu.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Allahabad High Court, Ayodhya, Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Sugriv Kila, Uttar Pradesh government Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/allahabad-hc-slams-up-government-for-temple-land-takeover-without-payment/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/allahabad-hc-slams-up-government-for-temple-land-takeover-without-payment/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/