The Supreme Court-appointed committee has effectively called out misuse of Banke Bihari’s bhog and funds, and is trying to bring the system back in line with basic fairness to devotees.
The committee has noted that bhog worth about ₹5–6 lakh a month is prepared and offered to Thakurji eight times a day, yet ordinary devotees are not given prasad, and most of it goes to Goswami residences in the name of “tradition”. The panel now plans a transparent system where devotees are involved in the bhog process, prasad is made available to all, and all funds collected are accounted for and used for the temple.
The audit report exposed that there were no bhog expenses shown between 2016–17 and 2018–19, but during Covid, when no devotees were present, the bhog head shot up to five times, indicating clear financial irregularity. It also highlighted long-term non-compliance with court orders and penalties of about ₹5.84 crore, as well as questionable spending from temple funds under earlier Goswami-controlled management.
Justice (retired) Ashok Kumar has accepted that there is resistance to these reforms but has bluntly said that those opposing should introspect, because “Thakurji is not going to like such irregularities”. Plans are also underway for free live-streaming of temple proceedings by February 2026 and proper railings to regulate queues and prevent chaos during darshan.
For a temple of Banke Bihari’s stature, cleaning up bhog and fund misuse is not just about accounts. It is about ensuring that darshan, prasad and seva belong first to the devotees, not to entrenched interests living off Bihariji’s name.
