SC said all donations must be deposited in temple donation boxes or credited online into the temple account.

NEW DELHI: The SC Tuesday took strong exception to the report of the court-appointed high-powered committee (HPC) headed by a retired HC judge that donations at Banke Bihari temple at Vrindavan are being pocketed by sevayats and ordered that devotees’ contributions must go only to the temple.Senior advocate Maninder Singh said the sevayats cover the donation box put up by the temple management committee with flowers to prevent devotees from putting their donations into it. These donations are then taken away by the sevayats, he said.Brushing aside the counsel’s submissions that a court decree allows sevayats to keep a part of the donations, a CJI-led bench said all donations must be deposited in temple donation boxes or credited online into the temple account. “First, the donation must be into the dedication, i.e., to the deity. From that you will get your share as part of ‘bhandari’ duties.”