Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has dismissed a contempt application filed against the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered temple management committee, led by Justice Ashok Kumar, a retired judge of Allahabad HC, forextending the darshan timings at the Thakur Shri Banke Bihariji Maharaj temple in Vrindavan-Mathura, allegedly in violation of HC’s Nov 2022 order.Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said that the committee, empowered by the top court to oversee the day-to-day affairs of the temple, had decided to increase the darshan time in light of the huge influx of pilgrims at the Banke Bihari temple, who are facing great hardship.The court said that the committee was acting to alleviate pressure inside and outside the temple so that pilgrims would not be subjected to distress.The present contempt petition was filed by one Gaurav Goswami, contending that once the HC had passed an order staying the operation of an order passed by a civil court in Mathura (in Nov 2022), the committee so appointed could not have increased the darshan time.The Mathura civil court’s order had attempted to increase darshan timings based on a communication between the district magistrate and the district judge. This order was promptly stayed by the HC. Subsequently, the matter reached the SC, where, citing administrative deadlock and infighting that were causing distress to pilgrims, the apex court constituted a high-powered temple management committee on Aug 8, 2025.This committee was specifically tasked with overseeing and supervising the day-to-day operations inside and outside the temple. On Sep 11, 2025, the committee held a meeting and adopted a resolution to extend the duration of darshan. Consequently, the DM/collector, Mathura, who serves as the member secretary, issued an office memorandum on Sep 19, 2025, implementing the change.In the contempt petition filed by Goswami, it was submitted before the HC that the committee’s decision flouted the restraining order passed by the HC. It was also submitted that increasing the darshan time would alter the deity’s daily routine and that an administrative body could not override a judicial stay.The committee, on the other hand, submitted that the SC had intervened precisely because prior infighting had exacerbated the problems, leaving pilgrims without any amenities or redress. He further submitted that the SC had empowered the committee to deal with issues incidental to proper functioning, including effective crowd control and maintenance of public order.Against the backdrop of these submissions, the court found no merit in the contempt plea as it noted that the context in which the HC passed the stay order in Nov 2022 differed from the context in which the committee took the resolution. The single judge noted that the committee had taken the decision after due consideration and that it had been mandated to oversee and supervise the day-to-day functioning inside and outside the temple.The high court further pointed out that the committee had increased the darshan time, taking into account the large influx of pilgrims at the temple who are facing significant hardship. Thus, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the HC found that the order of the HC had not been flouted or violated by the opposite parties.Hence, the HC concluded that no case for contempt was made out. With this observation, the HC in its decision dated Jan 22 dismissed the contempt petition.
