Taking exception to allegations of embezzlement of donations at the Shri Banke Bihari Temple at Vrindavan, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that every penny donated must land in donation boxes or online into the temple treasury.A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed that every penny of donation must come to the donation boxes or online temple treasury and any impediment created by ‘sevayats’ or anyone else shall be viewed very seriously. It asked the management committee to introduce a transparent mechanism for the temple treasury.The order came after senior advocate Maninder Singh submitted a status report by the high-powered committee overseeing the functioning of the temple.Placing on record certain photographs, Singh there were very serious issues and that the issue needed to be dealt with urgently.”There is a video. Three people are standing in front of ‘golak’ (traditional donation box) collecting the money from the devotees and putting it in their polythene bags,” Singh said, alleging that sevayats’ bhandaris (treasurers) were collecting offerings directly from devotees.The report alleged that QR codes placed for online donations had been destroyed or fully covered, preventing devotees from seeing or accessing them.The committee was being accused of misusing funds even though offerings were allegedly being diverted before they reached the temple treasury, Singh told the Bench.The Bench – which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana – said a priest cannot have a garnishing right on devotees’ donations.During hearing on pleas of the management committee of Thakur Shree Bankey Bihari ji Maharaj Temple, senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing ‘sevayats’ (priests), raised concerns over the alleged use of temple funds by the managing committee for purchasing properties.The Bench asked the parties to file their responses and objections to the status report filed by the committee within a week.Earlier, the top court had directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to prepare a comprehensive development plan including widening of roads and other facilities for senior citizens, women, children and ailing devotees of the temple.It’s also seized of a petition challenging the Uttar Pradesh Shri Bankey Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025, which sought to replace the existing management structure with a State-controlled trust.The top court had stayed parts of the law and constituted a 12-member high-powered committee headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Ashok Kumar to oversee the temple’s day-to-day administration. It had clarified that the committee was not inclined to make “any structural changes” to the existing religious practices at the temple.