UP fine with Banke Bihari panel headed by ex-judge but says he must be 'Sanatani Hindu'
Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj informed a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, "UP has no objection to formation of an interim management committee headed by a retired HC judge, to be appointed by SC, which will manage administration of the temple, have access to funds of the temple, to start building the corridor. The state is committed to providing finances for the same, in partnership with the temple administration, as was done in the case of Kashi Vishwanath temple.
"
However, govt stressed, "The retired judge may be one who is a Sanatani Hindu belonging to Vaishnav sect, so that religious sentiments of devotees of Shri Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj are upheld."
It proposed that the committee may include the Mathura DM; the SSP; the Munsif Mathura who has been managing the temple's affairs since July 2016 on HC orders; municipal commissioner Mathura; vice-chairman of Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority; principal secretary of Dharmarth Karya department and an official from ASI.
The Goswamis, who claim hereditary control over management and rituals of the 'private' temple and have challenged validity of the ordinance, have found no place in the state-proposed committee. Their counsel Kapil Sibal told the bench that he would file objections to this, and SC gave him time till Friday. The state repudiated their claim over the temple and surrounding land. It said, "The land on which the temple is situated, as per revenue records, belongs to Govind Deo temple.
.. The dire situation at temple requires immediate action to be taken to develop the area."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Banke Bihar Temple row: Supreme Court sets up 14-member panel to oversee functioning
The Supreme Court has set up a 14-member high-powered Temple Management Committee under former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar to 'oversee and supervise the day-to-day functioning inside and outside' the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan till the High Court takes a decision on the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Ordinance bringing the shrine management under a trust. The August 8 order by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said: 'The Committee shall make an endeavor to plan the holistic development of the Temple… for which they may privately negotiate suitable purchase of the requisite land. In case no such negotiation fructifies, the State Government is directed to proceed with acquisition of the required land in accordance with law.' The court also said 'besides the four members in the Committee representing the Goswamis, no other Goswami or sevayat shall be allowed to interfere or impede in any way in the managing of the Temple's critical functions…' The order came on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Ordinance and the directions in the SC's May 15, 2025 order allowing the state to use temple funds to buy 5 acres of land around the shrine for a proposed corridor project intended to decongest the area and improve facilities for visiting devotees. The SC pointed out that even before the May 15 order, the HC had by order dated November 8, 2023 disallowed the state from utilising the temple funds for land acquisition as part of the proposed redevelopment plan and the judgment was never challenged by the state and had thus attained finality. Noting that the May 15 order was passed not in any appeal challenging the November 2023 order, but by enlarging the scope of another matter where it was hearing a plea regarding the administration of Sri Giriraj Temple at Govardhan, Mathura, the SC said, given the fact that the HC order had attained finality, 'this Court could not have, in exercise of its civil appellate jurisdiction, effectively set aside the HC's judgment without any formal appeal or challenge being placed before it'. The SC directed that the concerned paragraphs be expunged from the May 15 order. While directing those who had challenged the constitutional validity of the Ordinance to approach the HC, the bench stayed the 'operation of' its 'in the interregnum, only to the extent they grant the state powers to constitute a Trust for managing the Temple's affairs'. 'Consequently, the constitution of the Shree Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust, as defined in Section 3 of the Ordinance and its composition, as contained in Section 5, shall be kept in abeyance till the question of validity of the Ordinance is finally resolved by the High Court.' It clarified that 'this interim direction shall not preclude the state from ratification of the Ordinance in the state Assembly' but added that this will 'obviously be subject to outcome of the' HC decision on the Ordinance. It asked the HC to decide the question of constitutional validity of the UP Ordinance 'expeditiously and preferably within one year of the fresh writ petitions being filed'. Explaining why it was setting up the committee, the court said, 'We are equally mindful that the sum of our directions shall effectively leave the management of the subject-Temple in limbo yet again, since the ad-hoc arrangement of Temple-management has been wholly ineffective and inefficient in discharging its duties over the years. We are pained to observe that the previous administerial deadlock(s) and in-fighting have only worsened the problems… causing much distress to the pilgrims…'
The Hindu
5 minutes ago
- The Hindu
What happens to ‘missing names' on Bihar SIR list?
The story so far: The Election Commission (EC) has completed the first phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by publishing the draft voter list on August 1. However, 65 lakh names have been removed from this list for various reasons, and the fate of lakhs who have been included on the draft list without submitting verification documents is also up in the air. As poll officials scrutinise forms and conduct inquiries on claims and objections in preparation for the publication of the final list on September 30, the Supreme Court is hearing objections to the SIR process filed by Opposition parties and civil society groups, with the next hearing set for August 12. What happened in the first phase of SIR? In the month after the EC launched the Bihar SIR process on June 24, booth-level officers (BLOs) carried out house visits, distributing pre-printed enumeration forms. Voters not included on the 2003 electoral rolls were required to submit documents proving the date and place of birth of themselves and their parents. As it became clear that many voters could not provide any of the EC's 11 approved documents — which did not include more commonly available documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID cards, or ration cards — the EC issued an advertisement on July 6, urging people to submit their forms before the deadline even if they could not provide supporting documents, leaving it to the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to process the forms on the basis of local investigations or other evidence. All those who submitted their forms before the deadline were included on the draft roll published on August 1. Who are the 'missing names' in the draft? The existing electoral rolls just before the SIR process began contained the names of 7.89 crore registered voters. The draft rolls published on August 1, however, only contain 7.24 crore names, indicating a dip of more than 65 lakh. The ECI accounted for these 65 lakh 'missing names' by explaining that 22.34 lakh people on the earlier list were found to be deceased, 36.28 lakh have migrated permanently to another State, or are untraceable, and 7.01 lakh are duplicate voters who have been found registered in multiple locations. Patna saw the highest number of such cases, with 3.95 lakh voters not included on the draft list. On July 13, the EC said a large number of people from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar were found during the house-to-house verification exercise and that they would not be included in the final electoral roll. The Hindu analysed the deleted names by comparing the draft roll with a list published by the EC in January 2025, which shows a drop of 56 lakh names, including 31 lakh fewer women voters and 25 lakh fewer men, which is unusual given that majority of migration outside the State is by men. Analysis indicated that more deletions may have occurred in districts with larger Muslim populations as per 2011 Census. How can names be added or deleted? Claims and objections to the draft roll can be filed throughout August to correct wrongful inclusions or exclusions. One week into the process, the EC has received 7,252 such claims and objections from individuals. Political parties have claimed that their ground workers too have filed similar claims to correct errors in the draft roll but the EC has denied it. In a plea to the Supreme Court, poll watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms said the full list of names removed from the draft rolls, along with specific reasons for removal, has not been provided to all political parties. EROs are to conduct inquiries on claims and dispose of them within seven days of filing. Each ERO is also expected to display the list of claims daily so that objections can be raised by the public. What will happen to those who submitted their forms without documents? The SIR order seems to leave such cases to the discretion of the EROs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) who will scrutinise the eligibility of electors based on documents submitted and field reports provided by BLOs. 'In case ERO/AERO doubts the eligibility of the proposed elector (due to non-submission of requisite documents or otherwise), he/she will start a suo moto inquiry and issue notice to such proposed elector, as to why his/her name should not be deleted,' the order says. 'Based on field inquiry, documentation or otherwise, ERO/AERO shall decide on inclusion of such proposed electors in the final rolls. In each such case, ERO/AERO shall pass a speaking order,' it adds. No name can be deleted from the draft roll without such a speaking order, the EC said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
SC sets up panel led by ex-HC judge for Banke Bihari temple
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Saturday set up an 11-member interim high-powered committee headed by former Allahabad high court judge Justice Ashok Kumar to "oversee and supervise the day-to-day functioning inside and outside of the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan and plan "holistic development" of the temple and its surroundings. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also gave green signal to the Uttar Pradesh govt to proceed with the acquisition of land around the temple required for developing a corridor on the lines of the one built for the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. Without expressing any opinion on the legality of the state's ordinance for developing the temple and its surrounding as well as building the corridor by taking Rs 200 crore from the temple fund, the bench said it is for the Allahabad HC to decide the validity of the ordinance. It requested the HC to decide the constitutionality of the ordinance within one year of fresh writ petitions filed against it. Rejecting applications filed by pujaris and other interested persons objecting to suggestions for improving the temple functioning, the bench said, "We see absolutely no merit in these objections, at this stage, especially when we have granted liberty to challenge the ordinance before the HC."
