'They Don't Allow Deity To Rest...': Supreme Court On Banke Bihari Timing Row

The Supreme Court on Monday afternoon issued notice on a plea on change of darshan timings and other religious practices at the Banke Bihari Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Vrindavan.

Hearing the plea filed by the Goswami community, from which historically the temple's priests are drawn, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said, "After closing the temple at noon... they do not allow the deity to rest even for a minute...they exploit it the most at this time."

The court then issued notice to state and district officials and the temple's management committee, which ordered the changed timings, and listed the matter for January first week.

The petitioners had argued the temple had historically and traditionally followed a seasonal schedule, with separate times to worship the deity in summer and winter. These timings, it was argued, were intertwined with internal rituals, such as allowing the deity time to rest.

The changes, the petitioners declared, had also 'disrupted essential religious practices', including the Dehri puja that was performed by the Goswami community that, according to tradition, supplies the temple priests. Suspending the ritual on grounds of crowd management was 'unfounded', the petitioners said, since it is performed when the temple is closed.

"Timings are sacrosanct. It has to be maintained," senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the temple priests, said, to which the court made its strong observation. "You don't let the deity rest... you facilitate people who pay hefty money to perform puja (when the temple is closed) ..."

"We don't want a situation where there is a stampede, etc.," Divan told the court, "That is why there needs to be control. This is not just a timing issue... it is very much tied into the tradition and it is for a purpose and there should be no privileged darshan."

Earlier the court had refused to entertain the challenge and constituted a high-powered committee, headed by former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar, to oversee and supervise the day-to-day functioning of the temple.