Allahabad HC adjourns hearing in ordinance on Mathura Bankey Bihari temple case

Economic Times

2 days ago

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing over creating a government trust to control and supervise the Shri Bankey Bihari Mandir at Mathura through an ordinance, and fixed August 6 for the next hearing. When the matter was taken up before Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, the state counsel informed that the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025 has been challenged before the apex court and the matter is pending. Following this, the high court adjourned the hearing and told the government counsel that it would be proper to get the Ordinance amended as it relates to the inclusion of bureaucrats in the proposed Trust. The court was of the view that by way of the Ordinance, the government wants to put control over the temple which cannot be permitted and it is in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution of India. Earlier on July 21, high court-appointed amicus curiae Sanjay Goswami questioned the competence of the state to issue the Ordinance.
"The temple in question is a private temple and the religious practice is being carried out by the heirs of late Swami Hari Das Ji," he said, alleging that by issuing the Ordinance, the government is trying to take control over the temple through the back door. "Section 5 of the Ordinance provides for Appointment Constitution and Terms of the Board and Trustees. Section 5 (1)(ii) provides that there would be two kinds of trustees of the Board, namely, nominated trustees and ex-officio trustees," he said. According to Goswami, the nominated trustees are saints, seers, gurus, scholars, mathadhish and mahants from the Vaishnav tradition as well as followers of Sanatan Dharm. He took strong objections to the inclusion of seven ex-officio trustees such as the Mathura district magistrate (DM), senior superintendent of police (SSP), municipal commissioner, chief executive officer of the Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikash Parishad, an officer of UP's Religious Affairs Department and chief executive officer of Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust. He contended that there is no need for the appointment of ex-officio trustees by the state government, as this would amount to a back door entry by the government in the private temple managed by the Goswamis.
According to him, it is an encroachment on the rights of the Hindus by the state government entering through the back door and taking control of the Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple, as it is a private temple and followers and successors of Swami Hari Das Ji are managing the temple.