The Allahabad High Court will hear on Thursday, a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of The Uttar Pradesh Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025, promulgated by the Governor on May 26, 2025.
The matter will be heard by the Division Bench of Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice Manjive Shukla.
The plea has been filed by Shri Bankey Bihari, the presiding deity, through Gyanendra Goswami, along with Rasik Raj Goswami, the Shebait of ‘Shri Banke Bihari Ji,’ and members of the Sakhi Sect of the Haridasi Sampradaya.
The petitioners contended that the ordinance, which directly encroached upon their legal and constitutional rights, violated the Preamble to the Constitution of India, particularly the idea of secularism, which essentially restricted the State from participating actively and passively in matters of religion.
Terming it as a ‘colourable exercise of powers, the plea submitted that the ordinance also violated Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 25, 26, and 300A of the Constitution.
Since the State could not directly build a temple from State funds, it was now attempting to do indirectly by taking complete control over the assets and administration of an already existing temple, they noted.
The plea alleged that in the guise of an independent Trust, the State was taking over temple assets, including the idol/deity, and handing it over to State agents, giving them unbridled rights to alienate/transfer the assets to third parties.
It further raised questions over the composition of the Board of Trustees under the Ordinance. The Board would comprise of 18 members, including 11 nominated and seven ex-officio, all to be appointed by the state government.
The plea contended that the Trust did not appear to be an autonomous body, but a state agency put in place to function at the instance of the State.
Filed through Advocate Lokesh Bhardwaj, the writ petition submitted that Banke Bihariji was a private temple, founded, developed, and managed by members of the Sakhi Sect of Haridasi Sampradaya, a religious denomination protected under Article 26 of the Indian Constitution. The present Goswamis/Shebaits traced their lineage to Swami Jagannath, brother of Swami Hari Das, who founded the idol/deity in the 16th century, it noted.
The plea described in detail the religious traditions followed by the Sakhi Sect of Haridasi Sampradaya and underscored the significance of the exclusive hereditary rights of Shebaits in the sewa-puja (worship) of the Deity.
Just because the deity’s darshan was open to the public, it did not change the nature of the temple from private to public, it added.