Allahabad HC slams UP government for temple land takeover without payment

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.