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Temple funds belong to deity alone, says Madras high court
The HC held that the Tamil Nadu govt had to use temple resources solely for the maintenance and development of temples and for connected religious activities
The Madras high court has said that temple funds donated by devotees belong to the deity alone, and cannot be diverted for any other activity.
Emphasising that such funds must be strictly utilised only for religious and charitable purposes, a bench of justices SM Subramaniam and G Arul Murugan of the Madurai bench of the Madras high court quashed five Government Orders (GOs) issued by the Tamil Nadu government between the years 2023 and 2025, permitting the construction of marriage halls using temple funds.
In an order passed earlier this week, the bench held that the Tamil Nadu government is bound to use temple resources solely for the maintenance and development of temples and for connected religious activities. It said temple funds cannot be diverted for commercial ventures such as marriage halls rented out for functions.
The court further observed that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act, 1959 allows temple funds to be spent only on religious or charitable purposes like “poojas, annadanam, pilgrim welfare and aid to the poor,” and not for revenue-generating activities.
“Temple funds are collected from and out of the donations offered by the devotees, donors and from immovable properties gifted in favour of the deity/temple only for religious purposes or to celebrate temple festivals in temples or to utilise the funds for maintenance and development of temple or group of temples as the case may be. Thus, temple funds cannot be treated as public funds or the Government funds. Temple funds are exclusive contributions of the Hindu religious people on account of their emotional or spiritual attachment with the temples or with the deities or with the Hindu religious customs, practices or ideologies etc,” the high court said.
The court passed the order while hearing a batch of petitions filed by one Rama Ravikumar, challenging the GOs claiming that the state had no authority under the HR&CE Act to divert temple funds for commercial ventures, including constructing marriage halls.
The petitioner argued that marriage halls cannot be classified as construction for religious purposes since they are rented out.
The Tamil Nadu government, through additional advocate general Veera Kathiravan, however, argued that temple funds can be used for construction under Sections 36-A and 36-B of the HR&CE Act. In the present case, the proposed construction was meant for Hindu marriages considered religious in nature, the State argued. It further told the court that no funds had been released yet and necessary permissions will be obtained for all proposed construction work.
The high court, however, refused to accept the state’s submission. It held that while Hindu marriage is considered a sacrament, it also carries contractual elements under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Therefore, a Hindu marriage is not in itself a “religious purpose” under the HR&CE Act, the high court held.
The court also cautioned that expanding the scope of the provision to allow temple funds to be used for purposes other than those expressly permitted would open the door to misuse and misappropriation. Such diversion, the court said, would amount to “abuse of temple resources” and would also infringe upon the religious rights of Hindu devotees, “who contribute to the temples in faith.”
