Supreme Court panel defends reforms at Bankey Bihari temple

NEw DelhiThe sublime Court-appointed high-powered citizens committee (HPC) overseeing the direction of Mathura’s Bankey Bihari temple has defended a serial publication of wholesale reforms, led by the discontinuation of VIP darshan slips and a restructuring of temple timings, as necessary measures to ensure safety, fairness and orderly access for the surging number of devotees visiting the shrine.In a detailed status report filed before the Supreme Court, the committee asserted that the decision to scrap the VIP darshan system was taken unanimously and was aimed at ending preferential access that allowed a select few to bypass queues. The committee said that the practice was incompatible with equitable access to the deity and had to be removed as part of broader efforts to streamline crowd management and restore sanctity to the darshan process.The report was placed on record when the matter came up last week before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant. Appearing for the committee, Uttar Pradesh’s senior additional advocate general and senior counsel Sharan Dev Singh Thakur defended the reforms, maintaining that they fell squarely within the mandate given by the top court. The case is scheduled to be heard next on May 18.Alongside the removal of VIP access, the committee has significantly revised the temple’s darshan schedule, advancing opening hours and extending public access windows in both summer and winter. The committee said the earlier timings had become wholly inadequate in the face of the “immense increase” in footfall, leading to severe congestion and hardship for devotees. Former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar heads the committee.By expanding darshan hours and rationalising the daily schedule of rituals, it sought to distribute the crowd more evenly across the day while ensuring that core religious practices continue uninterrupted.Responding to allegations that these changes interfere with long-standing traditions, the committee maintained that it has confined itself strictly to administrative and secular aspects of temple management.It emphasised that there has been “no interference whatsoever” in religious rites and ceremonies, and that all decisions were taken with the participation and, as far as possible, the consensus of Goswami representatives who form part of the committee.The report underscores that the reforms must be viewed in the context of mounting safety concerns, particularly after the 2022 stampede at the temple. It details how the committee introduced designated entry and exit routes, explored live streaming of darshan to ease physical crowding, and initiated structural assessments of the temple complex. It also constituted a sub-committee to negotiate the purchase of land in the vicinity of the temple to facilitate long-term infrastructure development, a move the committee said was in line with the Supreme Court’s direction to plan the holistic development of the shrine and its surroundings.One of the most contentious issues raised by petitioners related to the alleged discontinuation of dehri pooja. The committee firmly rebutted this in the status report. The committee clarified that the ritual has not been stopped but has instead been relocated to a different area near the sanctum so that it does not obstruct the flow of devotees. The earlier practice, it noted, had led to dangerous overcrowding, with devotees climbing barricades and even holding children over them to catch a glimpse of the deity. The regulation of access to the platform in front of the sanctum, the committee said, was purely a safety measure and did not amount to curtailing any essential religious practice.The committee also addressed, in detail, each of the objections raised by the petitioners challenging its functioning. On the issue of selection of Goswami representatives, it defended the process as transparent and inclusive, pointing out that a public notice was issued, applications were invited, and all candidates, including those nominated in an earlier meeting, were given an opportunity to be heard before final appointments were made. It argued that the earlier meeting cited by the petitioners had no legal standing, having taken place before the Supreme Court constituted the committee and outside the framework governing temple administration.With respect to the challenge to revised darshan timings, the committee emphasised that the changes were necessitated by the exponential increase in devotees and were made within its express mandate to ensure effective crowd management. It added that concerns raised subsequently were addressed by preparing a detailed schedule of rituals in consultation with Goswami representatives, thereby ensuring that religious practices were aligned with the new timings.The formation of a sub-committee to acquire land near the temple was similarly defended as a step directly flowing from the Supreme Court’s directions. The committee said the body includes both government officials with expertise in land acquisition and members of the Goswami community, and has already made tangible progress in purchasing land to facilitate infrastructure expansion.On the question of expenses being incurred from temple funds, the committee acknowledged that certain interim expenditures, including honorarium and operational costs, are being met from the temple’s resources, but said a request has been made to the state government to assume this financial responsibility. It also clarified that government officials serving on the committee continue to draw their salaries from the state and do not impose any additional burden on temple funds.Finally, the committee opposed the petitioners’ broader plea seeking restoration of earlier system or the conduct of elections under the 1939 management scheme, arguing that such relief would effectively override the Supreme Court’s August 8, 2025 order under which the present committee was constituted.The dispute over the Bankey Bihari temple’s management has been under judicial scrutiny for months, with the Supreme Court earlier indicating that reforms aimed at curbing preferential access and improving crowd management appeared to be in the right direction. In February this year, the Allahabad High Court also upheld the committee’s decision to extend darshan timings, noting that it was intended to reduce hardship for pilgrims amid heavy footfall.