Two Societies, One Name: Briefing Note Accuses Madhu Pandit Dasa of ‘Double Fraud’ Over Bengaluru Temple

A six-page briefing note dated 8 October 2026 sets out, point by point, the 1971 Mumbai Society’s case that Madhu Pandit Dasa revived a dormant 1978 society to take control of ISKCON’s Bengaluru temple. Akincana Gocara publishes it in full below, followed by ISKCON Bangalore’s position.

BENGALURU, India — A briefing note titled “MPD’s Double Fraud”, circulated among devotees this month and forwarded to Akincana Gocara for publication, accuses Madhu Pandit Dasa, president of ISKCON Bangalore, and members of his family of using a society registered in Karnataka in 1978, which the note calls “defunct”, to claim the Hare Krishna temple in Bengaluru and other assets of the society Srila Prabhupada registered in Bombay in 1971.^[1] ISKCON Bangalore rejects that account. It says it is an independent society that has run the temple for decades, and the Supreme Court agreed with it in May 2025; that judgment stands while ISKCON Mumbai’s review petitions wait for a new bench.^[2][4]

About the document

The note is unsigned and does not name the body that issued it. It is written from the side of the society registered in Mumbai in 1971, which it calls “the Original ISKCON” and the “1971 Mumbai Society”, and it refers to Madhu Pandit Dasa throughout as “MPD” and to the former auditor V.L. Varadarajan as “VLV”.^[1] It is an advocacy document: it presents one party’s allegations in a dispute that is still before the Supreme Court of India and before the police in Kolkata.

Akincana Gocara has reported the main events it describes: the Supreme Court’s May 2025 judgment, the review proceedings, Varadarajan’s January affidavit and its attempted withdrawal on 6 October, his police complaint of 3 October, and the Kolkata FIR.^[2][3][7] The note also makes claims that earlier coverage did not carry, and these remain the document’s claims:

• that the 1978 Bangalore society filed no income-tax return between 1978 and 2001 and had no meetings, funds or assets until it was “revived” in August 2001;^[1]
• that a document recording an AGM of the 1978 society in July 1984 at 210 Bellary Road was fabricated, because the premises were allotted to ISKCON by the Rent Controller only in February 1985;^[1]
• that the Supreme Court’s May 2025 judgment treated as admitted a BDA land-allotment application that the 1971 society had in fact called fabricated in its affidavits;^[1]
• that in his 6 October filing Varadarajan said Madhu Pandit Dasa had “contacted him and resolved issues” over money he was owed; the New Delhi Post, which reported the same filing, said it states he received no financial incentive for it.^[1][7]

One point can be checked against the public record. The note says that in September 2026 the Government of West Bengal cancelled its order handing the mid-day meal scheme in four districts to Madhu Pandit Dasa. The National Herald reported on 17 September that a School Education Department order dated 11 September withdrew a 21 August approval for the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which Madhu Pandit Dasa chairs, to supply PM POSHAN meals in Howrah, Purulia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur. The order gave no reason beyond “the decision taken by the competent authority”, and the paper carried no statement from Akshaya Patra.^[6]

The text below is reproduced as received. Paragraph numbers follow the original, in which most paragraphs are set in bold; the bold has been removed for readability. Nothing else has been changed.

The document: “MPD’s Double Fraud”

8 October 2026

Brief Summary

1. Madhu Pandit Das (MPD) claims that there is a dispute between two societies bearing the identical name “International Society for Krishna Consciousness”, or ISKCON. In reality, however, this is an attempt by Madhu Pandit Das (MPD) and his family members to usurp the Bangalore Temple and other assets of ISKCON.
2. The Original ISKCON was registered by its Founder, Srila Prabhupada, in Mumbai in 1971 (“1971 Mumbai Society”) under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, as well as the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950. All ISKCON temples and activities in India are owned and conducted by this Society, including the ISKCON temples in Kolkata, Mayapur, Delhi, Vrindavan, etc.
3. MPD and his family used a defunct society bearing the same name as the Original ISKCON, i.e., the “1971 Mumbai Society”, to usurp the Temple and other assets of the “1971 Mumbai Society” in Bangalore.

Brief Background

4. In 1965, Srila Prabhupada (born in Kolkata in 1896) went to New York on a cargo steamship to fulfil the order of his Guru to spread the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English-speaking world.
5. During his two-month voyage on the steamship, he suffered two heart attacks. He landed in New York penniless and without any support. Undeterred, he preached to the hippies in New York from a rented storefront arranged for him by a young American hippie sympathiser. After considerable struggle, in 1966, he registered the first non-profit corporation named “International Society for Krishna Consciousness” (ISKCON) under the laws of the State of New York.
6. His preaching spread to different states of the USA, and in each state he registered a separate legal entity—under the respective state laws, a non-profit corporation—with the identical name. He did the same in different countries in accordance with the laws of those countries. By the time he departed this world in 1977, he had established 108 ISKCON temples worldwide, of which eight were in India and more than 50 were in the USA.
7. In 1971, as explained in paragraph 2 above, he registered the “1971 Mumbai Society”. Until his departure from this mortal world in 1977, Srila Prabhupada established eight ISKCON temples in different states of India. Unlike in the USA, however, he did not register any separate ISKCON society in India other than the “1971 Mumbai Society”. All eight ISKCON temples were owned by the “1971 Mumbai Society”, were established as branches of that Society, and have continued to function as such. From 1971 until his departure in 1977, Srila Prabhupada was Chairman of the Governing Council of the “1971 Mumbai Society”.
8. In 1978, ISKCON’s largest temples, devotee communities and following were in the USA. Following the example of the USA, some followers of Srila Prabhupada who had started preaching activities in Bangalore registered another society with exactly the same name as the “1971 Mumbai Society”.
9. Immediately after this registration in 1978, they met Srila Prabhupada’s secretary, who told them that Srila Prabhupada had established eight ISKCON temples in different states of India but had not registered any separate ISKCON society other than the “1971 Mumbai Society”. Srila Prabhupada had also written a letter stating that, in India, Mumbai was the head office and, therefore, their action in registering another ISKCON society in Bangalore was contrary to his example and instructions. Consequently, they did not conduct any activity through that society, which became defunct soon after its registration—there were no meetings, funds or assets. It is hereinafter referred to as the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society”.

The Present Litigations and Disputes

10. The present litigations and disputes arise from the fraudulent attempt by Madhu Pandit Das (MPD) and his family members to usurp the Bangalore Temple and other assets and programmes, including Akshay Patra, of the “1971 Mumbai Society” by using the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” as a front.
11. The “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” had no funds, assets or activities. It did not file even a single Income Tax return for 23 years ( from its registration in 1978 till 2001), until it was illegally and fraudulently revived by MPD and his family in August 2001.
12. MPD, who was appointed President of the Bangalore branch of the “1971 Mumbai Society” in 1984, admitted in five different judicial proceedings between 1986 and 2001 that:
    • He was the Branch President of the “1971 Mumbai Society”;
    • The “1971 Mumbai Society” was the owner of the Bangalore Temple and its other assets and programmes, including Akshay Patra; and
    • Every year, in his capacity as the President of the Bangalore Temple/branch of the “1971 Mumbai Society”, he prepared the annual balance sheet and other accounts, had them audited, and sent them to the Mumbai head office, where the accounts of all branches were consolidated and filed with the Income Tax Department in Mumbai. The Bangalore branch was reflected as a branch of the “1971 Mumbai Society”, ever year, in the Income Tax returns and assessment orders passed by the Income Tax Department at Mumbai.
13. In August 2001, MPD committed a Double Fraud by exploiting the identical names of the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” and the “1971 Mumbai Society”, and began making the following two false and fraudulent claims:
    1. MPD and his family members were the Governing Body members of the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” and MPD was continuously elected as its the president of it, every year, from 1984 onwards (MPD did not even know about ISKCON in 1978 and had nothing to do with it); and
    2. The “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” was the owner of the huge Temple Complex at Rajaji Nagar and the other assets of the “1971 Mumbai Society” in Bangalore. (The “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” was a defunct entity; it had no funds or assets and had not filed even a single Income Tax return from 1978 until 2001.)

In order to support the above false and fraudulent claims, MPD and his family members fabricated antedated documents (including resolution books), manipulated accounts, and tampered with records in the custody of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the Telephone Department, etc. For example, he fabricated a document showing that an AGM of the 1978 Bangalore Society was held in July 1984 at 210, Bellary Road, Bangalore. However, that premises was allotted to ISKCON by the Rent Controller only in February 1985, thereby clearly demonstrating that the document had been fabricated.

14. As the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” had no funds, accounts or balance sheets, MPD engaged V.L. Varadarajan (CA) to make cosmetic changes to 12 balance sheets of the Bangalore branch (from 1989 to 2000) and certify them with back dates. On the strength of those fabricated, back-dated balance sheets certified by V.L. Varadarajan (VLV), MPD claimed that the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” was the owner of the Bangalore Temple and other assets and programmes of the “1971 Mumbai Society”.
15. The Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka recorded clear findings regarding the fraud, fabrication and manipulation committed by MPD, his family members and VLV (CA).
16. However, in its May 2025 judgment, the Supreme Court treated the High Court’s findings on fraud, manipulation and fabrication as irrelevant to the issue before it and did not address them. The judgment proceeded on the premise that the document claimed by MPD to be an application filed by him before the BDA for allotment of land on behalf of the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society” had been admitted by the “1971 Mumbai Society” as genuine. In reality, the “1971 Mumbai Society” had clearly stated in its affidavits—and this was also recorded in the lower court judgments—that this very document was fabricated. This constituted a clear error apparent on the face of the record.
17. In the review proceedings, a special three-Judge Bench, in December 2025, issued notice on the ground urged by the “1971 Mumbai Society” that there was an error apparent on the face of the record and that the Supreme Court was duty-bound to address the issue of fraud, fabrication and manipulation, which could not be declined as irrelevant. The matter was listed for hearing on 22 January 2026.
18. On 21 January 2026, VLV (the Chartered Accountant) filed a counter-affidavit in the review proceedings after receiving notice from the Supreme Court. In that affidavit, he stated that, under pressure from Madhu Pandit Dasa (MPD), he had prepared back-dated audit reports and certified back-dated balance sheets and related records to assist MPD in falsely claiming ownership of the ISKCON Temple through the “Defunct 1978 Bangalore Society”. It must be noted that MPD’s entire claim concerning ownership of the funds and properties is based on the audit reports and certificates issued by this Chartered Accountant, Varadarajan.
19. In this affidavit, the Chartered Accountant further stated that Madhu Pandit Dasa had persuaded him to participate in the preparation of these back-dated fabricated documents on the representation that this was necessary for the higher cause of saving the Bangalore Temple from what Madhu Pandit Dasa described to him as the corrupt gurus of ISKCON. According to the affidavit, he later discovered that Madhu Pandit Dasa had converted the Temple complex into a family-controlled enterprise and diverted Temple funds into real-estate businesses, which prompted him to place what he described as the true facts before the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
20. After filing the aforesaid affidavit, the Chartered Accountant also filed an application before the Hon’ble Supreme Court seeking protection on the ground that he feared for his safety because of Madhu Pandit Dasa.
21. In February 2026, Dayaram Dasa (President of ISKCON Kolkata), acting on the advice of counsel before the Supreme Court, filed a criminal complaint against Adridharan Das, MPD, his family members and VLV (CA) for criminal breach of trust, fabrication of back-dated accounts, making false statements before a court of law, tampering with statutory records, etc. Pursuant to an order of the learned CJM, Bankshall Court, Shakespeare Sarani Police Station registered an FIR in April 2026.
22. Between June and August 2026, the IO recorded statements under Section 161 of various witnesses, including Dayaram Dasa and other ISKCON devotees who had first-hand knowledge of the MPD’s fraud. VLV (CA) also had his statement recorded in Pune because VLV was unwell and had requested the IO to travel to Pune for that purpose.
23. In September 2026, the Government of West Bengal cancelled its order handing over the mid-day meal scheme in four districts to Madhu Pandit Das.
24. On 5 October 2026, when the matter was listed for hearing before the Supreme Court, VLV (CA) appeared in Court Hall No. 4 accompanied by MPD and his associates. VLV changed his Advocate-on-Record (AOR), and on 6 October 2026, the new AOR filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court requesting permission to withdraw his earlier affidavit dated 21 January 2026, in which he had admitted his own and MPD’s manipulation and fabrication of back-dated balance sheets and other documents.
25. VLV (CA) stated that he was facing financial difficulties and that MPD had not paid his professional fees. He stated that he had therefore taken, by way of loan, gold ornaments worth approximately Rs. 72 lakh from devotees of the “1971 Mumbai Society”, pledged those ornaments with a bank, and obtained a loan against them. According to VLV, after he obtained the loan, persons from the “1971 Mumbai Society” began pressuring him to return the ornaments. As he was not in a position to return them, he alleged that this was used as leverage to compel him to file the affidavit dated 21 January 2026. VLV further stated that now MPD has contacted him and resolved issues regarding substantial amount he was supposed to get.
26. It has now come to light that on 3rd October, 2026, ( 3 days before filing of this affidavit) VLV filed police complaint in Tilak Marg Police station (near the SC Complex) stating that MPD is pressurizing him to support him and offered Rs. 50 Cr. And also gave him threats and he was worried about safety of himself and his aged mother.

ISKCON Bangalore’s position

ISKCON Bangalore has not answered the note. Its position in the dispute, as set out in its own statements and in the courts, is that it is a society registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act in 1978, distinct from the Mumbai society and not its branch, that the temple land on Hare Krishna Hill was allotted to it by the Bangalore Development Authority in 1988, and that the temple’s property and funds were raised in Bangalore.^[2][5] On 16 May 2025 Justices Abhay S. Oka and A.G. Masih of the Supreme Court accepted that position, set aside the Karnataka High Court’s 2011 ruling for ISKCON Mumbai, and held that ISKCON Bangalore owns the temple.^[2][4] After the verdict, Madhu Pandit Dasa said:

“They can no longer expel the thousands of devotees who accept only Srila Prabhupada as the sole Acharya of ISKCON.”

Madhu Pandit Dasa, ISKCON Bangalore, 16 May 2025^[5]

ISKCON Bangalore disputes ISKCON Mumbai’s claim that Madhu Pandit Dasa described the Bangalore unit as a branch in earlier litigation.^[2] Varadarajan, whose January 2026 affidavit is central to the note, has since asked the Supreme Court to let him withdraw it. In his 6 October affidavit he says he signed the January statement without properly reviewing it, that representatives of ISKCON Mumbai gave him gold jewellery worth about ₹72 lakh during a personal difficulty and pressured him to sign, and that he received no financial incentive for the new filing, according to the New Delhi Post.^[7][3] ISKCON Mumbai has not answered those claims in any public report Akincana Gocara has seen. The January affidavit carries a notary’s certificate stating that it was read and explained to him.^[2]

As of 18 October 2026, ISKCON Bangalore’s website carried no statement on the note, on Varadarajan’s affidavits or on the Kolkata FIR; its most recent news post is dated 14 April 2026. Any response from ISKCON Bangalore or Madhu Pandit Dasa will be published with the same prominence.^[5]

Where things stand

The May 2025 judgment stands, and the temple remains with ISKCON Bangalore, until the Supreme Court hears ISKCON Mumbai’s review petitions. Those petitions returned to the Chief Justice of India for a new bench after Justice Manoj Misra recused himself on 5 October.^[4][2] The Kolkata FIR registered in April 2026 against Madhu Pandit Dasa, members of his family, Varadarajan and others is at the investigation stage. No court has ruled on the allegations of fabrication, on Varadarajan’s competing accounts, or on the alleged offers of money.^[3]

Note on the source: the briefing note argues the case of one party to the litigation. Akincana Gocara has not seen the court records, affidavits, police complaint or income-tax filings it describes, and has not independently verified its account of events, including its claims about Srila Prabhupada’s secretary and letter in 1978, the 1984 AGM document, the twelve back-dated balance sheets, the Karnataka High Court’s findings and the reasoning of the May 2025 judgment. Where the note’s claims match facts Akincana Gocara has reported from other sources, the sources are given above.

Read Also:

Former auditor of ritvik temple says he was given ₹72 lakh in jewellery before signing affidavit against Madhu Pandit Dasa, New Delhi Post reports

Who Owns Bengaluru’s Hare Krishna Temple? Supreme Court Review Delayed Again as Judge Steps Aside and Former Auditor Retracts Affidavit

Ritviks’ Temple Win Under Threat: Supreme Court Sets Date for ISKCON’s Review Plea

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Sources

1. “MPD’s Double Fraud”, unsigned briefing note dated 8 October 2026, 6 pages, forwarded to Akincana Gocara for publication on 18 October 2026 (no public URL).
2. “Who Owns Bengaluru’s Hare Krishna Temple? Supreme Court Review Delayed Again as Judge Steps Aside and Former Auditor Retracts Affidavit”, Akincana Gocara, 12 October 2026. akincana.net/2026/10/12/who-owns-bengalurus-hare-krishna-temple-…
3. “Former auditor of ritvik temple says he was given ₹72 lakh in jewellery before signing affidavit against Madhu Pandit Dasa, New Delhi Post reports”, Akincana Gocara, 15 October 2026. akincana.net/2026/10/15/former-auditor-of-ritvik-temple-says-he-…
4. Ritwik Choudhury, “Supreme Court Justice Manoj Misra recuses from hearing case between ISKCON Mumbai and ISKCON Bengaluru”, Bar and Bench, 9 October 2026. barandbench.com/news/litigation/supreme-court-justice-manoj-misra-…
5. ISKCON Bangalore, “Supreme Court’s Judgement: ISKCON Bangalore – ISKCON Mumbai dispute”, iskconbangalore.org, 16 May 2025. iskconbangalore.org/supreme-courts-judgement-iskcon-bangalore-… (archived copy)
6. Kunal Chatterjee, “The curious case of Bengal’s ‘ISKCON meals’: fanfare, rollout, then silence”, National Herald, 17 September 2026. nationalheraldindia.com/national/the-curious-case-of-bengals-… (archived copy)
7. “Auditor’s U-turn: ISKCON temple dispute takes a new twist”, New Delhi Post, 12 October 2026. newdelhipost.co.in/auditors-u-turn-iskcon-temple-dispute-takes-a-new-twist/ (archived copy)