Supreme Court gives green signal to Banke Bihari Temple Corridor, will be constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore

The Supreme Court has modified the order of the Allahabad High Court in the Banke Bihari Corridor case. The Uttar Pradesh government has been allowed to use temple funds to purchase land around the temple, but it is necessary that the acquired land is in the name of the deity/trust. The court said that historical temples require proper maintenance and persons with religious ''>The Supreme Court has approved the construction of the proposed grand corridor of Banke Bihari Temple, Vrindavan. A bench of Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to use Rs 500 crore from the temple treasury to buy land. Supreme Court advocate Sarthak Chaturvedi said that the government can take money from the treasury of Banke Bihari Temple only to buy land. The court clarified that the land purchased should be in the name of the temple trust.

The Allahabad High Court had earlier rejected the proposal to buy land from the temple fund, but now the Supreme Court has approved it. The Uttar Pradesh government has promised to spend Rs 500 crore for the construction of the corridor.

The Supreme Court allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to use temple funds to purchase land around the temple as per the proposed plan. The Supreme Court said in the decision that the order of Allahabad High Court dated November, 2023 is modified to the extent that Uttar Pradesh is allowed to use temple funds to purchase land around the temple as per the proposed plan, provided that the acquired land is in the name of the deity/trust.

The Supreme Court said in its judgment that it is an established fact that historical temples are old structures. They require proper maintenance and other logistical support, and this, coupled with the fact that receivers have been appointed in a large number of temples for decades, was originally intended as a temporary measure.

It is unfortunate that while appointing receivers, the concerned courts are not keeping in mind that Mathura and Vrindavan are the two most holy places for the Vaishnav sects and hence persons belonging to the Vaishnav sects should be appointed as receivers.

What did the Supreme Court say in its decision?

This will give full meaning to the directions of the High Court that persons with adequate administrative experience, historical, religious, social ''>Further, the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mathura is directed to comply with the impugned order dated 27.08.2024 and appoint a receiver having adequate administrative experience in the matter.

Corridor will be built on 5 acres: A grand corridor will be constructed on 5 acres of land around the temple. The government will buy the land by taking money from the fixed deposit of the temple, but the ownership of the land will remain with the temple.

Receiver with religious 'color:#0E101A'> The Civil Judge of Mathura was directed to appoint a receiver who belongs to the Vaishnav sect, has knowledge of Vedas and scriptures and is associated with temple management.

Administration and advocates will be kept away: The court clarified that the district administration and advocates should be kept away from the temple management.

Earlier, during the hearing, referring to the Shri Banke Bihari temple established in 1864, the senior advocate said that the area of the main temple is only 500 square yards, but a huge crowd of devotees throngs it.

The government had said this in the corridor case

Every day 40,000-50,000 devotees visit the temple. This figure goes up to 1.5-2 lakh on weekends and more than five lakh during festivals. The total area of the temple is 1,200 square feet.

The state had submitted before the Allahabad High Court in 2022 that in order to manage the crowds and create better holding areas and corridors for devotees at the temple, it was taking steps to purchase an additional five acres of land in the name of the temple.

The state is not interested in the management within the temple premises but only wants the convenience of the devotees. The Uttar Pradesh government is not interested in directly entering the temple. It does not want any ownership rights over the temple but wants the welfare of the devotees around it.

PC:TV9Bharatvarsh