Supreme Court orders all Banke Bihari Temple donations to go to treasury

The Supreme Court on August 25, 2026, issued a firm directive ordering that all monetary offerings at the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan must be deposited directly into the temple's donation boxes or its online treasury. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, warned that any obstruction to this process by temple servants or others would be viewed with utmost seriousness.

The court's intervention came after reviewing a status report from a high-powered committee it had established in August 2025 to oversee the temple's daily management. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the committee, presented the report along with photographs and a video. The video reportedly showed three individuals standing near the traditional donation box, or golak, collecting cash directly from devotees and placing it into polythene bags. Singh flagged these as very serious issues requiring urgent attention.

Taking a strong view of the submissions, the bench directed the temple's managing committee to implement a transparent mechanism for receiving and accounting for all donations. "Let there be no doubts and we...