LUCKNOW/AYODHYA: Ayodhya police has registered a case against a local priest Ramakant Pathak for allegedly selling Naya Anand Bhavan Temple’s property to the Ram Mandir Trust through fraudulent means.
The complaint was filed by Anand Prakash Pathak, the temple’s caretaker, who claimed that the property was an ancient religious asset that couldn’t be transferred for personal gains. Ramakant was the temple priest in the past but removed because of his alleged misconduct. Despite a 2016 court order that asked him to vacate the temple premises, he stayed on and later conspired with revenue officials to transfer the temple land to his name, the complaint says.
On September 21, 2024, he reportedly sold 21,198.8 square feet of temple land to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Ram temple trust, for Rs 6 crore using forged documents. Following a court directive, police filed an FIR on March 3, 2025, and an investigation is underway.
According to the complaint, the Naya Anand Bhavan Temple is an ancient religious site located on Nazul land plots numbered 280, 281, 282, 283, and 289 in Chak Ramkot, Ayodhya. The temple was originally established by Ram Sundar, a childless devotee, who registered the temple’s ownership and management with the sub-registrar’s office in Faizabad on January 6, 1962, and November 8, 1967.
The registered documents explicitly stated that no individual could sell or transfer any part of the temple’s property for personal gains. The temple has been overseen by a management committee, of which Anand Prakash Pathak serves as president and caretaker.
The accused, Ramakant Pathak, was initially appointed as a priest for temple rituals. However, he was later removed from his position after being accused of misusing and damaging temple property. Following his removal, he allegedly refused to vacate the premises.
In response, the management committee filed a civil suit in the Faizabad civil judge’s court, seeking his eviction. After years of legal proceedings, the court ruled on February 2, 2016, ordering Ramakant to vacate the temple premises within two months.
However, he did not comply with the court order, leading to an ongoing legal battle. According to the complaint, Ramakant Pathak, in collusion with a Nazul clerk named Lalamani and fraudulently altered official land records.
By forging documents, he falsely registered himself as the owner of the temple land, despite court rulings against him. The fake mutation was allegedly executed on September 16, 1995, where he replaced the name of the original temple founder with his own. When temple authorities discovered the forged land records, they filed an appeal with the nazul officer, who, after investigation, cancelled the fraudulent entries on February 21, 2019, the complaint says.
Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Ramakant Pathak and clerk Lalamani at Kotwali Nagar police station under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120B of the IPC. Ramakant Pathak was arrested but later released on bail.
Despite the cancellation of his fraudulent land ownership, Ramakant Pathak allegedly concealed the legal facts and, on Sept 21, 2024, sold the disputed temple land to the Ram temple trust. The sale deed, registered at the sub-registrar’s office in Ayodhya, falsely stated that the land was under his undisputed ownership, the FIR says.
After learning of the fraudulent sale, Anand Prakash Pathak filed complaints at Kotwali Nagar and Ram Janmabhoomi police stations on October 3, 2024. When no FIR was registered, he escalated the matter to the Ayodhya police chief on Oct 4, 2024. The case was eventually brought before the Additional Civil Judge (CD) Fourth/ACJM Ayodhya, who directed the Kotwali Nagar police station to register an FIR and initiate an investigation within 20 days.
Anand Prakash alleged that despite previous criminal charges and imprisonment, Ramakant Pathak continues to engage in fraudulent activities. He further claimed to have received threats to his life. SHO, Kotwali, Ashwini Pandey, said that an FIR was registered under the charges of BNS 319 (2) (cheating by personation), 318 (4) (fraudulently inducing someone to give property), 338 (forgery of valuable documents), 336 (3) (forgery), and 340 (2) (use of forged documents) against Ramakant Pathak.
