Banke Bihari temple: Panel calls for special audit, opening of ‘toshkhana’
A committee formed by the Supreme Court has ordered a special audit of Banke Bihari temple assets, the opening of a sealed room, and banned VIP darshan.
The high-powered management committee, constituted on Supreme Court orders, has directed a special audit of the Banke Bihari temple’s movable and immovable assets covering a three-year period (2013-16), opening of a long-sealed room in the basement of the temple in Vrindavan and an end to the practice of VIP darshan.
The committee, headed by Justice (retired) Ashok Kumar of the Allahabad high court, took these decisions at its fourth meeting on Thursday evening and said the details of the special audit should be placed before it within 15 days.
It is after 54 years that the sealed room, popularly known as the ‘toshkhana’, will be opened, said a person associated with the temple. The committee has directed videography and preparation of an inventory of articles and objects found in this room.
A special supervisory committee has been formed for this purpose, including the auditor, the civil judge and circle officer of Vrindavan and a representative from the Goswami community.
The ‘toshkhana’ was last opened 54 years ago and the doors have been closed since then, said Acharya Prahlad Vallabh Goswami, a sevayat or servitor.
“The temple dates back to 1864 when ‘Thakurji’ was brought to the present location in Vrindavan. This room, often referred to as ‘toshkhana’, is beneath the seat of Bihariji (the deity), which houses jewellery and documents related to immovable assets of the temple, but no exact details are available of what all is there,” Goswami said to HT on the phone.
“The toshkhana was last opened in 1971 during the term of Pyarelal Fatehlal Goyal as the head of the temple management committee, which had been operative since 1939. The committee looked after management of the temple and had elections. The last elections were held in 2016 after which there was a dispute and the committee became defunct,” Goswami said.
Later, the court of the civil judge (junior division), or Munsif Mathura, was named as the receiver and the situation continued till recently when the Supreme Court constituted this high- powered committee.
“(When the room was opened in 1971) It is said valuables, including gold ornaments offered to Thakurji, were deposited in a locker at the State Bank of India’s Bhuteshwar branch in Mathura and are believed to be there since then. The inventory of valuables, deposited in a box, was handed over to seven members of a committee on the temple premises publicly,” Goswami said.
Goswami revealed the ‘toshkhana’ faced thefts in the past, two such instances were during the British period in 1926 and 1936, after which four accused were arrested. Since then a ‘mokha’ (hole) was created by the Goswami community through which deposits were placed inside the toshkhana but nothing taken out because of the lock, he said.
In 2002, many sevayat Goswamis signed a representation to have the ‘toshkhana’ unlocked but nothing materialised, he said, adding that similar efforts were made in 2004 but to no avail.
The temple receives a huge amount of offerings, which are either deposited in a box placed or given as ‘nyochawar’ (offering to God) through Goswamis.
Earlier, the cash and valuables offered at the Banke Bihari temple were deposited in banks after two or three months. But with the temple becoming more popular of late, bank officials are called to the premises thrice a month. A bank manager, assisted by staff, gets the cash counted in the presence of the commissioner, who is the receiver. The process is videographed and money and valuables are deposited in various banks in Vrindavan.
According to a rough estimate, there is ₹360 crore cash deposited in the name of the Banke Bihari temple in different banks, besides valuables, other assets and land, Goswami said.
The high-powered committee members include Mukesh Mishra (retired district and sessions judge), Mathura district and sessions judge Vikas Kumar, Civil Judge/Munsif at Mathura Shipra Dubey, Mathura district magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh, Mathura SSP Shlok Kumar, Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam municipal commissioner Shyam Bahadur Singh, superintending archaeologist (ASI) Dr Smita S Kumar, besides people from the Goswami community.
Among other decisions, the committee has decided to adjust the temple’s daily “darshan” schedule.
In summer, the temple will be open from 7 am to 12:45 pm and from 4:15 pm to 9:45 pm. The winter timings will be 8 am to 1:45 pm and 4 pm to 9:15 pm.
To manage the large crowds and ensure fairness, the committee has banned all VIP passes (parchis) and authorised the Mathura senior superintendent of police (SSP) to ensure that devotees start using only the designated entry and exit gates within three days.
The Mathura SSP was also asked to act against such private security personnel and policemen, who are found at places other than those assigned to them on the temple premises.
The committee members expressed dissatisfaction with the present security and suggested replacing it.
Furthermore, a structural audit of the temple building and premises has been proposed to be conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee.
Other issues taken up during the meeting included removal of a gallery often used for VIP visitors, queue for devotees, air-conditioners at temple, probe into construction undertaken in an open space measuring 357 square yards and complaints of irregularities.
The committee also took up the issue related to negotiations with owners of property required to be acquired and donations for improvement in arrangements at the temple.
The high-powered management committee for the Banke Bihari temple was constituted by the Supreme Court in August.
The committee was formed to address long-standing issues surrounding the temple’s administration and management.
The Supreme Court passed the order while hearing challenges to the Uttar Pradesh Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025. The ordinance, which aimed to establish a state-controlled trust to manage the temple, was opposed by the Goswami families. The Supreme Court put the ordinance on hold and directed the Allahabad High Court to rule on its validity, preferably within a year.
The Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust Bill, 2025 was passed during the Monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly that concluded on August 14.
