A special court in Ayodhya on Monday (September rejected the bail applications of three accused arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple here, their lawyer said.
The three were among eight accused whose judicial custody was extended till September 21 by the court on Friday (September 18). Their bail applications were taken up for hearing on Monday (September 21).
Special Judge Rajat Verma of the Anti-Corruption Court heard the bail applications of Avinash Shukla, Manish Kumar Yadav and Ram Shankar Mishra, advocate Kul Shekhar Singh, who represents the accused, told PTI. “The defence argued that if these two provisions, which it claimed had been wrongly invoked by police, were removed, the remaining offences carried a maximum punishment of seven years and the accused could be granted bail in the absence of any special circumstances,” he said. “The lawyer also submitted that the police had so far failed to file the chargesheet in the case, but the court rejected the bail applications after hearing the arguments,” he said.
The eight accused were arrested after an FIR was lodged on June 25 following a preliminary report by a state government-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT). The case relates to the alleged embezzlement of cash and valuables offered by devotees at the Ram temple. They are currently lodged in jail.
The court had earlier directed the police to produce the case diary and investigation report, as hearings on the bail applications had been repeatedly deferred after the investigating officer failed to submit the report.
