Banke Bihari Temple: SC proposes to form committee to oversee temple management

New Delhi [India], August 4 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday proposed the constitution of an interim committee by a former High Court judge to oversee the management of the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Mathura.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi questioned Uttar Pradesh over its "tearing hurry" in promulgating the Shri Bankey Bihari Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025, for taking over the management of the temple.
In a dispute between the temple and a Uttar Pradesh government ordinance about the proposed redevelopment of a corridor using Rs 500 crore from temple funds, Justice Kant said, "Lord Krishna was the first mediator... please try to mediate the matter."
Proposing that a committee can oversee the management of the temple, the bench said that first, the constitutional validity of the UP government Ordinance has to be decided by the Allahabad High Court.
The temple rituals will continue as before, said the bench. It proposed that the Collector and other authorities will also be a part of the committee, and the ASI can also be associated with the committee for a holistic development of the region.
The bench also orally proposed to recall the directions in the May 15 judgment, which allowed the government to use the temple funds for the corridor.
Hearing the petitions challenging the Ordinance, the apex court adjourned the hearing for August 5 to enable Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj to get instructions from the government on the proposals made by it.
The 2025 UP Ordinance is stated to vest the temple administration with a statutory trust. According to it, the management of the temple and the responsibility of facilities for the devotees shall be handled by the 'Shri Banke Bihari Ji Mandir Nyas'.
As per Ordinance, 11 trustees shall be nominated, with a maximum of 7 members serving as ex-officio. Government and non-government members must adhere to Sanatan Dharma.
Earlier, the top court had slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for "hijacking" the litigation between two private parties over management of the Shri Banke Bihari temple.
The apex court was also hearing a petition filed by Devendra Nath Goswami seeking the modification of its order permitting the Uttar Pradesh government to utilise funds from the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan to purchase five acres of land around the temple for corridor development.
Goswami has said that he was a "lineal descendant" of the temple's founder, Swami Hari Das Goswami, and his family had been managing the affairs of the sacred temple for the last 500 years.
The plea said he was actively involved in managing the temple's daily religious and administrative affairs.
Filing the plea, he said the implementation of the proposed redevelopment project was practically unfeasible, and any attempt to redevelop the temple premises without the involvement and inputs of those who were historically and operationally associated with the temple's functioning was likely to result in administrative chaos.
On May 15, the top court had permitted the state to use the Trust's fund and also allowed the use of Sri Banke Bihari Temple Trust's fixed deposits after taking into note the state government's Rs. 500 crore development plan for the corridor.
The apex court had modified the order of the Allahabad High Court, which had prohibited the purchase of land around the temple using its funds.
The top court had taken into note the records placed by the government regarding the proposed scheme for the development of the temple.
The apex court's approval of the state government's development plan for the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Corridor had come particularly in light of incidents such as the 2022 stampede at the Banke Bihari Temple.
The top court had also taken note of maladministration in temples in the Braj region and emphasised that effective temple governance is not only a legal requirement but also a matter of public and spiritual welfare. (ANI)