Allahabad HC judge suggests death penalty for corruption, cites Ram Mandir donation theft charges

Justice Atul Sreedharan of the Allahabad High Court said people who remain unfazed by the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya are “beyond shame” and suggested that the government consider introducing the death penalty for those convicted of corruption in the most serious cases, PTI reported.

The remarks were made in Justice Sreedharan’s 51-page opinion on what he called “bulldozer justice,” in which he criticized 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 “a low point in Indian integrity”. He said corruption had become so normalized that it was only considered wrong when those involved were caught.

The judge also referred to India’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2025, saying it had failed to create 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 most serious cases.

Justice Sreedharan on “bulldozer justice”

Justice Sreedharan also criticized the practice of “bulldozer justice”, describing it as a reaction to what he called the public’s desire for spectacle. Noting that such demolitions continue despite Supreme Court rulings on the matter, he quoted 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 claimed that the donations were worth ₹5 million crowns ₹7.5 million was stolen from a temple in Ayodhya. Subsequently, an FIR was registered and eight people, including temple employees, were arrested in connection with the alleged theft.