GBC Executive Committee

The office’s decision of 12 December 2023 barred Kesava Bharati from staying overnight at any ISKCON facility. Its addendum of 26 December 2023 records that the panel considered “the GBC EC’s request that KBdG be permitted to reside at one ISKCON facility, such as ISKCON Goverdhana, as he is elderly and has no shelter other than ISKCON”, and granted it. The panel stressed “the importance of zero-tolerance policy towards child abuse within ISKCON, highlighting that support for the victim must take precedence over any consideration for the abuser” (cpo-2023).

The GBC’s resolution of 20 July 2022 states: “Except for appointing the CPO and PLMO Directors and approving CPO and PLMO Guideline and policy objectives, the GBC Body shall refrain from intervening in the work of the various ISKCON agencies, offices and committees described herein”, naming the ISKCON Child Protection Office among them (gbc-2022).

According to ISKCON News, the Executive Committee in late 2023 consisted of Revati Raman Das (chair), Guru Prasad Swami and Tapana Misra Das (icn-2023-10). The decision does not say which members made the request. A child-protection advocate, Saraswati Richardson Jones, criticised the request in February 2024 as interference contrary to the 2022 resolution (srj-2024).

Under the restructuring of 2025, the Child Protection Oversight Committee’s recommendations on reviews of the office’s decisions are also sent to the GBC Executive Committee; the 2026 review that set aside Kesava Bharati’s finding went through that process (see Child Protection Oversight Committee).

The decision. Under the system the GBC adopted in 2025, the Child Protection Oversight Committee sends its recommendation on a procedural review to the GBC Executive Committee, and the interim director then issues the decision. The oversight committee’s announcement of its first review says: “It was concluded that this was never a CPO case to begin with and should not have been processed as one. Following this finding, the GBC EC, with the consent of the General Counsel, authorized the Interim CPO Director to issue a decision consistent with CPOC’s recommendation” (cpoc-reviews). The announcement does not name the case; Sapna Patel and her advocates identify it as hers (bs-2026, k1008-2026-03).

The case. Sapna Patel, who has agreed to be named, grew up in ISKCON in the United Kingdom. The man she accused of abusing her as a child was tried in a UK court and acquitted; ISKCON’s International Child Protection Office then investigated under its 2018 guidelines, found in her favour and imposed restrictions on him (bs-2026). The review relied on the premise, which she disputes, that neither of them was affiliated with ISKCON at the time. According to the analysis (bs-2026), she was never told a review was under way or asked about that premise, the interim director confirmed in writing that the oversight committee “neither had nor sought the case file”, and she learned of the outcome when he was seen back at her temple. He is not named in the sources and is not named here.

Who was on the committee. The GBC’s officers elected in February 2025 were Govardhana dasa (chairman), Tapana Misra dasa and Madhu Sevita dasa (vice-chairmen) (gbc-2025); the same three signed as the “GBC Executive Committee” in February 2026 (gbc-2026). The announcement does not say which members took the decision.

Criticism. In March 2026 the child-protection advocate Sanaka Rsi das wrote of “the egregious mishandling of Sapna’s case by the GBC Executive Committee, CPOC and Champakalata”, the interim director (k1008-2026-03). His September 2026 open letter on the Kesava Bharati review says the Sapna review “made headlines across ISKCON” and that both reviews go to the GBC Executive Committee (vi-2026-09). No public statement by the Executive Committee on this case has been found. The oversight committee’s own part in the case is described on its record (Child Protection Oversight Committee).