The Supreme Court will now decide the course of hearing on a petition challenging the validity of the Uttar Pradesh government’s 2025 Ordinance related to the management of the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Mathura-Vrindavan.
The decision on which Bench will hear the matter will be taken by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), following a direction issued by a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant.
During the hearing, it was brought to the court’s attention that another petition related to the same issue is already pending before a different Bench.
Considering the overlap, Justice Kant’s Bench directed that the matter be placed before the CJI, who will assign the appropriate Bench for hearing all related pleas together.
The controversy revolves around a petition filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's recent Ordinance, which effectively takes over the management of the revered Shri Banke Bihari Temple. The petition argues that this move amounts to state interference in religious affairs and that the temple is neither public property nor a state-owned trust.
The petitioners maintain that the temple has historically operated under a private management structure, as per a management scheme established in 1939. They claim that the Ordinance violates the provisions of that scheme and undermines the autonomy of the current temple management committee.
The plea further argues that there was no compelling reason for the state to issue such an Ordinance, and that no sufficient justification has been offered by the government for taking over control of the temple’s administration.
It is also worth noting that the Allahabad High Court is already hearing a separate challenge to the temple management takeover.
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