Supreme Court frowns upon practice of allowing rich people to do ‘special pujas’ in temples

The Supreme Court on Monday frowned upon the practice of allowing rich people to do ‘special pujas’ in temples after paying money, disrupting the resting time of the deity.

“What they do is, after closing the temple at 12 noon, they do not allow the deity to rest even for a minute. They exploit the deity the most at this time. All affluent people who can afford to pay hefty amounts are allowed to do special pujas,” a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant said while hearing a plea against the darshan timings and temple practices set by the court-constituted committee at Bankey Bihari Ji Temple.

“That is not so. Your Lordships may ensure that it is proscribed. It is a very important period of rest for the deity. This is important. The court is raising an extremely important point. The timings are sacrosanct and should be maintained,” senior advocate Shyam Divan submitted on behalf of temple ‘sevayats’.

“This is the time when they indulge in all kinds of these practices that they invite people who can pay, and special pujas are done,” the CJI noted.

Issuing notice to the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered temple management committee and the Uttar Pradesh Government to a plea challenging changes in ‘darshan’ timings and temple practices at the famous Bankey Bihari Ji Temple at Vrindavan, the Bench listed the matter for further hearing in the first week of January.

“The change in temple timings has led to a change in the internal temple rituals, including the timings when the deity wakes up in the morning and sleeps at night,” Divan told the Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pamcholi.

Divan assailed the change in ‘darshan’ timing of the deity at Bankey Bihari Ji Temple and also stopping of certain essential religious practices, including Dehri Pooja there.

“These darshan timings are part of tradition and rituals. The timings during which the temple is open to the public are a part of a long tradition… historically, strict timings have been followed,” Divan submitted.

Divan said the recent changes in timings, effected pursuant to office memoranda issued in September 2025, have disrupted the essential religious practices in the temple.

The petitioners said the discontinuation of the age-old “Dehri Pooja”, performed exclusively by the Goswamis, is a part of the Guru-Shishya ‘parampara’, arguing that its suspension on grounds of crowd management was unfounded since the ritual is performed when the temple is closed to the public and at a limited, specific location.

The dispute arose against the backdrop of significant changes in the temple’s governance framework. For decades, the 1939 Scheme of Management governed the administration, rituals, and financial affairs of the Bankey Bihari Temple.

The Uttar Pradesh Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025, seeks to replace this scheme with a state-controlled trust, triggering debate over governmental involvement in religious institutions and its impact on established traditions.

In August 2025, while hearing a challenge to the ordinance, the top court declined to examine its constitutional validity, leaving that issue to the Allahabad High Court. It had, however, stayed the operation of the ordinance, which rests administrative control of the shrine with the state, till the high court decides its validity.

It has set up a high-powered committee headed by former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar to manage the temple’s day-to-day affairs. It has asked the panel to ensure basic amenities for devotees, including clean drinking water, functional washrooms, shelters, dedicated crowd corridors, and facilities for elderly and vulnerable pilgrims. It was also empowered to plan the overall development of the temple and its surrounding areas, including land acquisition if required.