SC permits UP govt to use funds of Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust to buy land for temple corridor

New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted 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.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma ordered that the acquired land shall be registered in the name of the deity.
It also allowed the use of Sri Banke Bihari Ji Temple Trust's fixed deposits after taking into note state government's Rs. 500 crore development plan for the corridor.
The apex court modified the order of the Allahabad High Court, which had prohibited the purchase of land around the temple using its funds.
"The State of Uttar Pradesh has undertaken to incur costs of more than Rs.500 Crores to develop the corridor. However, they propose to utilise the Temple funds for purchasing the land in question; which was denied by the High Court vide order dated November 8, 2023. We permit the State of Uttar Pradesh to implement the Scheme in its entirety. The Banke Bihari Ji Trust is having fixed deposits in the name of the Deity/Temple. In the considered opinion of this Court, the State Government is permitted to utilize the amount lying in the fixed deposit to acquire the land proposed. However, the land acquired for the purposes of development of the temple and corridor shall be in the name of the Deity/Trust," the apex court stated in its judgement.
The top court took into note the records placed by the government regarding the proposed scheme for development for the Temple.
"Upon a perusal of the recods and the consequent assessments, it has been ascertained that five acres of land around the temple is to be acquired and developed by constructing parking lots, accommodation for the devotees, toilets, security check posts and other amenities. As observed by the High Court vide order dated November 8, 2023, the acquisition of land around the temple and the consequent development project is crucial to ensure the safety of the pilgrims," it further stated.
The apex court's approval to the state government's development plan for the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Corridor came particularly in light of incidents such as the 2022 stampede at the Banke Bihari Temple.
"It pains this Court to take notice of the fact that the temple was a site of an unfortunate stampede in 2022, caused due to the lack of infrastructure that can support the large crowd of devotees that visit the temple brimming with bhakti to offer their prayers," it further stated.
The top court also took 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.
It further directed the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mathura to appoint a Receiver having relevant adequate administrative experience, historical, religious and social background preferably belonging to the Vaishnav Sampradaya.
"It is an established fact that the historical temples are old structures; they require proper upkeep and other logistic support, and added to the fact is that in a large number of temples, Receivers have been appointed for decades now which was originally intended to be a stop-gap temporary measure. It is unfortunate that while appointing Receivers, the concerned Courts are not keeping in mind that Mathura and Vrindavan, the two most sacred places for Vaishnav Sampradayas and, therefore, persons from Vaishnav Sampradayas should be appointed as Receivers. This will give true meaning to the High Court's directions pertaining to persons who are having adequate administrative experience, historical, religious, social background and not advocates to be appointed as Receivers," the judgement added. (ANI)