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SC-Appointed Panel Tightens Oversight at Banke Bihari Temple, Orders Sewak Disclosure and Treasury Opening

The judge-led body is moving to ensure transparent management that restores fair access for devotees.

Overview

  • The committee directed goswamis to submit within three days the names of their sewaks and to limit them to one or two, citing complaints that outsider aides solicit money for priority darshan.
  • The panel redesigned crowd flow with three entry queues each at Gates 2 and 3 and called for strict enforcement of separate reserved darshan areas for men and women on an upper gallery.
  • Chairman Justice (retired) Ashok Kumar clarified that illegal VIP parchis are banned while VIP protocol remains, noting reports that 1,000–1,200 parchis were issued daily and photocopied for misuse.
  • The long‑sealed toshkhana beneath the sanctum will be opened for videographed inventory under a supervisory team, alongside a special audit of movable and immovable assets for 2013–16 to be filed in 15 days.
  • The panel proposed a structural audit by IIT Roorkee, urged replacing current security with a professional agency that hires retired Army personnel, set new darshan timings, and ordered use of designated entry and exit gates.