A contempt petition has been filed before the Allahabad High Court challenging a recent change in the darshan timings at the Sri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan. The petition, moved by Advocate Gaurav Goswami, impugns an order of September 11, 2025, passed by a High-Powered Committee constituted to supervise the temple’s functioning. The petitioner contends that this Committee exceeded its mandate as set by the High Court in earlier orders relating to the temple.
It is averred that the High Court, in a public interest litigation initiated in 2022, had stayed an order of the Civil Judge which had expanded the darshan timings. Since then, no final adjudication has been reached on that expansion. Despite this, the petitioner claims, the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police have compelled the temple shebaits (priests) to implement the expanded hours of darshan. The change in timings and the live streaming of darshan were announced publicly and circulated widely, including in newspapers and WhatsApp groups.
The petitioners assert that the legal notice served on the Committee remained unanswered. They argue that these actions violate the undertaking previously given by the State to refrain from interfering in the temple’s puja and archana and the continued operation of established timings. The petition seeks that those responsible for the change be held in contempt for violating the High Court’s earlier directions and for undermining the judicial process.
The Court has accepted the petition for hearing and listed it for consideration. The High Court’s scrutiny will focus on whether the Committee’s decision intruded upon the terms laid down by prior orders of the Court, and whether the changes in darshan timings and public dissemination thereof constitute contempt of court.
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