Ram Mandir case: Nirmohi Akhara says Mahant Dharamdas no longer a member

A day before the Supreme Court hearing, the Nirmohi Akhara said Dharam Das is no longer its member and cannot speak for it. The claim has brought the body's internal divisions into focus ahead of the Ram Mandir donation case.The Nirmohi Akhara spokesperson said Dharam Das had been expelled from the Akhara.A day before the Supreme Court hearing in the Ram Mandir donation case, a fresh dispute has surfaced within the Nirmohi Akhara, with its spokesperson claiming that Mahant Dharam Das is no longer a member of the religious body and has no authority to speak on its behalf.The Nirmohi Akhara spokesperson told India Today that Dharam Das had been expelled from the Akhara and should not present himself in the media as its Mahant or authorised representative.The spokesperson also claimed that Mahant Dinendra Das, who was made a member of the Ram Temple Trust by Champat Rai, is no longer the Mahant of the Nirmohi Akhara. According to the spokesperson, Dinendra Das remains associated with the Akhara but does not have decision-making powers within it.The claims come a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Ram Mandir chanda chori case, bringing internal divisions within the Nirmohi Akhara into focus. ‘THIS DHARAM DASS IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE NIRMOHI AKHARA’In a message, the Nirmohi Akhara spokesperson said Dharam Das had been presenting himself before the media as a Mahant of the Akhara and as its ‘Mukhtaar’, allegedly authorised by the Sarpanch-Mahant and Panchayat of the Nirmohi Akhara."I state that this Dharam Dass is not a member of the Nirmohi Akhara," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson further alleged that Dharam Das and others had attacked the Nirmohi Akhara on February 16 and 17, 1982, during a dispute over the Akhara's possession of the Outer Courtyard, including Ram Chabutra.According to the spokesperson, a criminal FIR was registered in the matter. The spokesperson also referred to arguments made by the Akhara's legal counsels during the Supreme Court hearings in 2019, claiming that the incident was linked to a ‘VHP conspiracy to dispossess the Nirmohi Akhara from the Outer Courtyard’.The spokesperson said the dispute over the property was later decided in favour of the Nirmohi Akhara by the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench.‘DO NOT TAKE COMMENTS ON BEHALF OF NIRMOHI AKHARA’The Nirmohi Akhara spokesperson also appealed to media organisations not to seek comments or statements on behalf of the Akhara from Dharam Das or his associates."We request that you may please advise your reporters and news desk to not take any comments or statements on behalf of Nirmohi Akhara from the said Dharam Dass or his associates," the message said.The spokesperson also listed the people authorised to explain the Akhara's legal position and provide clarifications on its affairs.The Akhara's legal stand, according to the message, can be explained only by its lawyers Sushil Kumar Jain and Puneet Jain, both Senior Advocates in the Supreme Court, and Tarunjeet Lal Verma, Advocate at the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court and Faizabad District Court.The spokesperson said Mahant Sitaram Das and the spokesperson would provide other specific legal and quasi-legal clarifications, along with current and historical facts related to the application filed in the Supreme Court on July 18, 2026.The claims regarding Dharam Das and Dinendra Das come at a politically and legally significant moment, with the Supreme Court hearing in the Ram Mandir donation case set to take place amid the reported divisions within the Nirmohi Akhara.- EndsPublished By: Sonali VermaPublished On: Jul 19, 2026 19:19 IST