New Delhi [India], May 27 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for "hijacking" the litigation between two private parties over management of the Shri Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said that if the state government starts entering into private disputes between parties, it will result in a "breakdown of the rule of law."
The bench asked the counsel appearing for the state, "Was a state a party to the proceedings? In what capacity has the state entered the dispute? If states start entering into a private dispute between parties it will breakdown of rule of law. You can't hijack the litigation. In a private litigation between two parties, state filing an impleadment application and hijacking it is not permissible."
The observation of the apex court came while hearing a petition seeking the modification of its order permitting the Uttar Pradesh government to utilise funds from the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan to purchase five acres of land around the temple for corridor development.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner Devendra Nath Gooswami, told the bench that fund of Rs 300 crore has been given to the Uttar Pradesh government without making him the party in the case.
"They can't take away the funds of private temple," said Sibal.
On the other hand, counsel appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government told the bench the state has passed an Ordinance and set up a trust to manage the Banke Bihari temple and oversee work on the proposed corridor.
"Now enactment has come to force. Funds are with Trust not with state. This enforcement will dilute the direction of the apex court. State is not using the funds. The Ordinance bars state from implementing the court's direction and the Ordinance says Trust will manage funds and state has no role to play," said the counsel of Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court then directed the counsel for the state government to place on record a copy of the Ordinance passed with regard to the Trust and directed the concerned Principal Secretary to file an affidavit by July 29.
The petition filed by Gooswami said he was a "lineal descendant" of the temple's founder Swami Hari Das Goswami and his family had been managing the affairs of the sacred temple for the last 500 years.
He said he was actively involved in managing the temple's daily religious and administrative affairs.
Filing the plea, he said the implementation of the proposed redevelopment project was practically unfeasible, and any attempt for redevelopment of the temple premises without the involvement and inputs of those who were historically and operationally associated with the temple's functioning was likely to result in administrative chaos.
On May 15, the top court had permitted the state to use Trust's fund and also allowed the use of Sri Banke Bihari Temple Trust's fixed deposits after taking into note state government's Rs. 500 crore development plan for the corridor.
The apex court had modified the order of the Allahabad High Court, which had prohibited the purchase of land around the temple using its funds.
The top court had taken into note the records placed by the government regarding the proposed scheme for development for the temple.
The apex court's approval to the state government's development plan for the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Corridor had come particularly in light of incidents such as the 2022 stampede at the Banke Bihari Temple.
The top court had also taken into note of maladministration in temples in the Braj region and emphasised that effective temple governance is not only a legal requirement but also a matter of public and spiritual welfare.