The Supreme Court docket on Tuesday indicated that it might direct the Uttar Pradesh authorities to amass land required for the event of the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan if the Excessive-Powered Committee’s efforts to buy the land privately proceed to face obstruction.
“When you proceed together with your negotiations, if a personal transaction happen, you tell us. We are going to allow you to go forward. If there may be nonetheless an obstacle, then we’ll direct the state to amass the land”, CJI Surya Kant advised the Excessive-Powered Committee.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was listening to an software filed by the Administration Committee of Thakur Shree Bankey Bihari Ji Maharaj Temple in regards to the administration and improvement of the temple.
The Excessive-Powered Temple Administration Committee was constituted by the Supreme Court docket in August 2025 to supervise and supervise the day-to-day functioning of the temple pending the proceedings regarding its administration.
On the earlier date, the Court docket had asked the state authorities and the Excessive-Powered Committee to provide you with a improvement plan for the temple. As per the newest standing report, a complete improvement plan has been ready for the temple precinct, considering the demographic and footfall projections for the realm.
It information a present regional footfall of roughly six crore guests yearly throughout the Braj area and 1.75 crore yearly in Vrindavan, and tasks an annual footfall of two.5 to three crore guests by 2041.
The event plan envisages a three-level improvement with amenities together with ready areas, cloakrooms and shoe storage, baggage rooms, childcare amenities, meals courts, public utilities, accessibility amenities, a 10-bed hospital, a command-and-control centre, police barracks and administration workplaces.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh for the court docket appointed Excessive-Powered Temple Administration Committee advised the Court docket that about 5.5 acres of land was required for improvement. He stated that almost half an acre had been acquired and efforts had been underway to amass the remaining 5 acres, however the course of was going through obstruction.
As per the standing report, the event plan requires 22,850 sq. metres of land. The proposed space covers roughly 22,722.9 sq. metres, or 5.61 acres, comprising 197 plots. A land buy sub-committee was constituted on September 11, 2025 to barter with property homeowners and the method of buy/acquisition of present buildings and property within the recognized space was thereafter initiated. 28 sale deeds protecting 2,696.98 sq. metres have been executed in favour of the temple, the standing report says.
The report states that execution of additional sale deeds has slowed down due to objections raised by the Goswami members. It additionally says that some Goswami members expressed displeasure in the direction of individuals who had already offered land to the committee and had themselves refused to promote land within the improvement space.
Singh submitted that the Goswami members had been objecting to the utilisation of temple funds for improvement whereas additionally creating obstacles within the acquisition of land.
Advocate NK Goswami alleged that the Excessive Powered Committee is taking part in a fraud on the Court docket by making an attempt to buy disputed land for the temple.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan for the Goswami-led Administration Committee of the Temple Divan objected to temple funds getting used to buy the properties. He submitted that buying properties with the temple funds was not inside the remit of the court-appointed Excessive-Powered Committee. He highlighted that Excessive Powered Committee was constituted as an interim association, and the principle constitutional problem in case continues to be pending.
Nevertheless, the CJI identified that the Court docket had additionally given a mandate for improvement actions to the Excessive-Powered Committee. He CJI advised the Excessive-Powered Committee to proceed negotiations, and if a personal transaction for the required land happened, the committee might inform the Court docket. If there was nonetheless an obstacle, the Court docket would think about directing the State to amass the land, he stated.
Divan additionally raised issues over the way by which committee conferences had been being carried out. He stated agendas weren’t circulated and members had been knowledgeable via WhatsApp to attend conferences. He additionally sought video recording of conferences and circulation of draft and ultimate minutes.
He additional prompt regulating darshan via tickets or a web based system, referring to the system used through the COVID-19 interval. He stated that related programs had been being adopted at different temples for crowd management.
The standing report information that the 4 Goswami members had earlier proposed an extension of darshan timings and the Excessive-Powered Committee authorized the proposal and issued an instruction for its implementation. Nevertheless, the change has not but been applied by the Goswamis, the report states.
The report additionally information complaints regarding alleged violations of conventional practices on the temple, together with the bodily situation of valuable gold and silver heritage objects, preparations regarding darshan, an alleged misappropriation of a 55 kg silver boat provided on the temple, the Rath Yatra custom and adjustments regarding conventional rituals.
The Court docket granted the events one week to events and intervenors file their responses and objections to the standing report.
Case no. – W.P.(C) No. 704/2025 and related case
Case Title – Administration Committee of Thakur Shree Bankey Bihari Ji Maharaj Temple & Anr. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.
Additionally from at this time’s listening to – Banke Bihari Temple | Devotees’ Offerings Must Directly Reach Donation Box Or Online Treasury; Sewayats Must Not Interfere : Supreme Court
