The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that every offering made by devotees at the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan must be deposited directly into the donation boxes laid at the shrine or its online treasury, after allegations of cash donations being diverted before reaching the temple’s funds surfaced.
An SC bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi as well as V Mohana made the ruling while hearing a batch of pleas filed by the management committee of the Thakur Shree Bankey Bihari Ji Maharaj Temple.
Banke Bihari Temple (Right)
“Every penny of donation must come to treasury”
Senior advocate Maninder Singh placed a status report prepared by the high-powered committee overseeing the temple’s day-to-day functioning before the court, along with photographs. Singh informed the bench that the concerns underscored in the report were grave and required immediate intervention. He also referred to a video purportedly showing three men standing near a golak (a donation box), collecting cash directly from devotees and placing the offerings into the plastic bags owned by them instead of allowing them to be deposited in the box.
Singh submitted before the court, “There is a video. Three people are standing in front of ‘golak’ collecting the money from the devotees and putting it in their polythene bags.”
Vrindavan's Banke Bihari Temple
The court, taking a stern view of the allegation, directed that every penny offered by devotees must reach the temple’s official donation boxes or its own treasury. The bench remarked, “Let there be no doubts and we accordingly direct that every penny of donation must come to the donation boxes or online temple treasury.”
Court seeks transparent donation system
The top court then warned that any obstruction created by sevayats (people associated with the temple’s religious services), or anyone else in ensuring that offerings reach the official treasury would be viewed seriously.
The bench furthermore directed the temple management committee to establish a transparent mechanism for receiving and accounting for donations. The objective of the move is to ensure that offerings are properly recorded and reduce the scope for alleged malpractice in the handling of devotees’ contributions.
Banke Bihari Temple under judiciary’s oversight
Notably, the Shri Banke Bihari Temple is one of the most prominent and heavily visited shrines in the Braj region. It draws devotees throughout the year, and the footfall spikes during Janmashtami as well as other major religious festivals.
The temple’s administration and the management of its finances have remained subjects of prolonged litigation and court-monitored oversight. The SC’s latest directives underscored the need for greater transparency in the handling of donations made by devotees.