Banke Bihari Temple Trust Ordinance: The Supreme Court has suspended the operation of the committee constituted under Banke Bihari Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025 in Uttar Pradesh. Constitutional validity will be heard from the High Court. A new committee will be formed for temple management.
Supreme Court on Banke Bihari Temple: The Supreme Court has given a big verdict on Friday regarding the management of Shri Banke Bihari Temple, Vrindavan. The court has ordered the suspension of the committee constituted under Uttar Pradesh Shri Banke Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025. The matter will be sent before the High Court to challenge the constitutional validity. The operation of this committee will be stopped till the decision of the High Court.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has announced to set up a new committee for the smooth administration of the temple, which will be led by the former High Court judges. The committee will consist of representatives of some government officials and traditional careful Goswamis.
Supreme Court objected to government scheme
The Supreme Court had earlier raised strong objection to the ‘fast’ action of the Uttar Pradesh government, which brought the temple management under its control, brought the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025. The court said that the matter is a dispute between two private parties, which the government wrongly subjected to it.
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Devendra Nath Goswami, the traditional careist of the temple, had filed a petition requesting the court to amend the order, in which the government was allowed to buy five acres of land using the temple funds. Goswami says that he is a descendant of Swami Haridas Goswami, the founder of the temple and the temple has been managed by the family for the last 500 years.
Concern over temple redevelopment
The petition also said that no plan for redevelopment of the temple would be practical without the participation of traditional carefuls and this could lead to administrative chaos. On May 15, the Supreme Court had allowed the state government to use the trust funds of the temple to purchase land for the development of the temple corridor. In this decision, the court amended the order of the Allahabad High Court in which the purchase of land from the temple fund was banned.
Need to improve temple management
The Supreme Court has also expressed concern over mismanagement in temples of Braj region and said that effective management of temples is not only a legal need, but a matter of public and spiritual welfare. The court also said that it will issue the order by tomorrow and will give the High Court the right to hear the case. Till then the new committee will take responsibility for the management of the temple.
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