The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it did not intend to interfere with any religious rights through the 2025 Shri Banke Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, Live Law reported.

The ordinance, passed earlier this year, allowed the state government to take over the management of the Banke Bihari temple in Mathura district’s Vrindavan.

It proposed the creation of a statutory trust with several state government officials as ex-officio trustees. The temple has historically been managed privately.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi has been hearing petitions against the ordinance. On Monday, the bench questioned the “tearing hurry” with which the state government had promulgated the law.

During the proceedings on Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the state government, said that the ordinance would soon be placed before the Assembly for ratification, The Hindu reported.

He added that the ordinance was aimed at improving the temple’s administration.

“State never intended nor it intends to interfere with any of the religious rights of any of the parties,” Live Law quoted Nataraj as saying. “It is only with regard to the secular activities, that is, for better administration of temple that ordinance has been issued.”

Nataraj also told the bench that the temple gets around 20,000 to 30,000 devotees daily and as many as two to three lakh on weekends.

“There is a requirement for better facilities, better administration,” The Hindu quoted him as saying. “There has been mismanagement of funds.”

Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the current temple management, objected to the submission that funds were allegedly being mismanaged. “There was no allegation of mismanagement of funds at any stage,” the newspaper quoted Sibal as saying.

After going through a proposal submitted by the state government, the bench listed the matter for Friday to allow the petitioners to give their suggestions in the matter, Live Law reported.

It further asked both sides to give their recommendations for the appointment of a retired High Court judge to head a committee to oversee the management of the temple as an interim measure.

SC on UP government’s ‘clandestine’ approach

On Monday, the bench had criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for acting in a “clandestine manner” to secure permission to use temple funds for a corridor project through an application in a civil dispute.

The court was referring to a May 15 verdict that allowed the government to use temple funds to acquire five acres of land around the temple to develop a corridor that is estimated to cost Rs 500 crore.

The Supreme Court had modified a 2023 Allahabad High Court order, which had permitted the corridor’s development but barred the use of Rs 262.5 crore from the temple fund.

The May 15 permission was granted on the condition that the acquired land be registered in the name of the deity.

The bench, on Monday, verbally proposed to recall the directions in the May 15 verdict.