On 4th August, the Supreme Court envoked the spirit of Lord Krishna and referred to him as the “first mediator” during the hearing of the dispute concerning Vrindavan’s iconic Shri Banke Bihari Temple and the Uttar Pradesh government. The state government had issued an ordinance about the projected redevelopment of the temple’s corridor using Rs 500 crore from the latter’s finances.
The top court when requesting mediation between the temple trust and the state government about the corridor’s construction stated, “Lord Krishna was the first mediator, please try to mediate the matter.” The case was being heard by the bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Surya Kant.
They recommended to maintain a portion of the 15th May Supreme Court judgement that had permitted the state to spend temple funds in abeyance and proposed to choose a retired high court or district judge as the temple’s managing trustee. Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court will review the ordinance’s constitutionality.
According to the court’s proposal, the temple will be run by a committee until the decision is made but the family that was assigned the responsibility shall continue to perform the rites as they did earlier. “The daily rituals of the temple would be continued by the ‘goswamis’ as before,” it pronounced.
The court added that the ASI can be linked to the committee for a comprehensive development of the area and the Collector and other authorities will also be included. The Uttar Pradesh government has been ordered to reply to the court’s suggestions by 10:30 am of 5th August.
According to the 2025 UP Ordinance, a statutory trust will be granted to the temple management. It declared that the “Shri Banke Bihari Ji Mandir Nyas” will be in charge of the temple’s administration and the facilities for the worshippers. It further conveyed that a maximum of seven members will serve ex-officio and eleven trustees will be nominated. The ordinance emphasised that the members of the government and non-government organisations must be followers Sanatan Dharma.
