New Delhi, August 8, 2025
In a significant development concerning the management of the revered Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple in Vrindavan, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday ordered a temporary suspension of the newly constituted Committee under the Uttar Pradesh Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025.
The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, announced that the Ordinance will be kept in abeyance while petitioners challenge its constitutional validity before the Allahabad High Court. The Court emphasized that until the High Court rules on the matter, the state-backed Committee will not function.
To ensure uninterrupted administration and oversight of the temple’s affairs, the apex court proposed the formation of a new interim Committee, which will be headed by a former High Court judge. This Committee will include representatives from the state government and members of the traditional Goswami sewayats, who have historically managed the temple.
“We will constitute a neutral Committee chaired by a former HC judge. Some state officers and members from your community (Goswamis) will be inducted. The Committee will oversee all developmental and administrative activities in the area,” said Justice Surya Kant during the hearing.
The Supreme Court further indicated that it would recall certain directions from its earlier judgment dated May 15, which had allowed the state to utilize temple funds for a controversial redevelopment project involving land acquisition for a corridor around the temple.
In today’s hearing, the bench also issued a stay on the proceedings of a writ petition pending before a single-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, which also challenges the Ordinance. The Chief Justice of the High Court has been requested to reassign the case to a Division Bench, considering the constitutional nature of the issue.
During the August 4 proceedings, the Supreme Court had raised sharp questions over the “urgency” displayed by the state in pushing the Ordinance. It criticised what it called a “clandestine move” to secure permission to use temple funds by leveraging an application in a civil dispute where the temple’s current managers were not party to the case.
On August 5, the UP government, through Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, responded by assuring that the Ordinance was not intended to infringe upon any religious rights, and would soon be placed before the Assembly for ratification.
Prominent senior advocates including Shyam Divan, Kapil Sibal, and Gopal Sankaranarayanan argued for the petitioners — primarily representatives of the Goswami sewayat community. ASG KM Nataraj appeared on behalf of the State of Uttar Pradesh.
The temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna in his form as Bankey Bihari, has historically been managed by around 360 sewayats, descendants and spiritual successors of Swami Haridas Ji, the saint believed to have discovered the deity.
In May 2023, the Allahabad High Court had issued directions for state intervention, later modified by the Supreme Court in May 2025, allowing acquisition of land around the temple using its own funds — provided the land was registered in the name of the deity.
The 2025 Ordinance, promulgated recently, seeks to vest control of the temple in a statutory trust — Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Mandir Nyas — comprised of 11 trustees, including 7 ex-officio members, raising serious concerns from traditional custodians about the dilution of religious autonomy.
The Supreme Court’s order — expected to be uploaded by August 9 — will include:
• Suspension of the 2025 Trust Committee.
• Constitution of an interim Committee headed by a retired HC judge.
• Stay on pending High Court writ proceedings.
• Transfer of constitutional challenge to a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
This development marks a temporary pause in the UP government’s bid to restructure temple administration while opening the door for a judicial review of the controversial Ordinance.
