Court notice to Champat Rai, three others over Ayodhya land deal
The Trust said it plans to demolish the mandir for expansion of the area around the Ram Temple. Lawyers Ranjeet Lal Varma and Tarunjeet Lal Varma filed the civil suit on behalf of the petitioner, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, on Thursday in Ayodhya district court
A disciple of Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwarka Sharada Peeth has filed a civil suit seeking directives for preventing Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust, which is overseeing the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, from demolishing the nearby Fikerah Ram Mandir.
Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai. (File photo)
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The Trust said it plans to demolish the mandir for expansion of the area around the Ram Temple.
Lawyers Ranjeet Lal Varma and Tarunjeet Lal Varma filed the civil suit on behalf of the petitioner, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, on Thursday in Ayodhya district court.
The court issued notices to Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Trust, Raghuvar Saran Das, the mahant of Fikerah Ram Mandir, in response to the suit.
“Fikerah Ram temple is a historic temple, and it should not be demolished. We have filed a civil suit against the Trust seeking directives from the court to stay the demolition of the temple,” said Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.
The petitioner has sought the appointment of a receiver (custodian) to take care of the Fikerah Ram Mandir and to regulate rituals there.
The Trust said it has purchased three temples--Kaushalya Bhawan, Fikerah Ram Mandir, and Deen Kuti--for the expansion.
The three temples are around 250 to 300-year-old. The Fikerah Ram Mandir is the biggest of the three.
Mahant Raghuvar Saran said his temple is inside the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the Ram Temple is under construction. “I had no option but to accept the Trust’s offer to sell the land for expansion of Ram Mandir.”
The Trust has provided land to the Mahant for constructing the temple in Ramkot area, over a km away from away, in Ayodhya.
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The Supreme Court paved the way for the Ram Temple construction in 2019 by awarding the disputed site to the Hindus. The temple is coming up in place of the demolished 16th-century Babri Mosque.
Pawan Dixit, Assistant Editor, brings over 20 years of frontline reporting experience to the newsroom. A specialist on Uttar Pradesh politics and governance, he has reported from the ground across the state’s most consequential stories. He cut his teeth in eastern UP, spending 15 years covering the region. Based in Varanasi, he reported the 2012 UP Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that reshaped the state’s political map. Moving to Lucknow in 2016, he has since led coverage of the 2017 and 2022 UP Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. His reporting tracks the BJP’s strategy, opposition moves, and voter sentiment across all 75 districts. Pawan has been a constant presence in Ayodhya since 2016. He reported the entire arc of the Ram Mandir movement — from the legal fight to the Supreme Court verdict, through temple construction, to the inauguration. He continues to track every development at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. On the state beat, he covers the BJP, the Industrial Development Department, and handles key outstation political assignments. He also reports major cases from the district court, Lucknow bench of the High Court, and the State Information Commission. Along with this, he also reports on NGT's important decisions related to UP. Known for sharp sourcing and clear analysis, Pawan connects politics, policy, infrastructure and faith — the forces driving UP today. He has reported developments in Ayodhya and Ram Mandir movement since 2016. The Supreme Court's Ram Mandir verdict, temple construction and the its opening have been reported by him.
He reports all developments in Ayodhya and Ram Mandir Trust.
He covers state BJP, Industrial development department, outstation political assignments, reports special cases from district court, high court and state information commission
