Madurai: In a strongly worded and far-reaching judgment, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has delivered a scathing indictment of the Tamil Nadu government and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department for illegally diverting funds belonging to the historic Sri Kallazhagar Temple in Madurai. The Court categorically ruled that the State has “no business” deploying temple funds unilaterally and termed the unauthorised use of such funds a “crime against the deity.”
A Division Bench comprising Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice C. Kumarappan quashed Government Order (G.O.) Ms. No.135 dated March 8, 2024, along with consequential proceedings issued on October 11, 2024, which had sought to include the ancient 108 Divya Desam temple under the State’s so-called ‘Iconic Project’. The judgment exposes systemic violations of constitutional safeguards, statutory provisions under the HR&CE Act, and binding Supreme Court precedents governing the autonomy and administration of Hindu religious institutions.
Temple Reduced to a ‘Development Project’
At the heart of the case was the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to conceptualise and execute large-scale civil works at the Sri Kallazhagar Temple using its accumulated surplus funds. Initially pegged at nearly ₹92 crore and later revised to approximately ₹40 crore, the proposed works included the construction of toilets, dining halls, guest houses, commercial shops, parking facilities, sewage treatment plants and other infrastructure.
The Court unequivocally rejected the very premise of the ‘Iconic Project’, holding that the HR&CE Department had wrongly treated the temple as a real-estate or infrastructure development venture.
“The Department has envisioned the temple as a ‘project’ requiring development and upgradation, concepts that are alien to a temple,” the Bench observed, cautioning that such an approach undermines the sanctity, religious character and constitutional protection accorded to temples.
The judges stressed that religious institutions cannot be transformed into government-run development sites under the guise of modernisation or tourism promotion.
State Has ‘No Authority’ to Announce Temple Projects
In one of its most severe rebukes, the High Court held that the Tamil Nadu government has absolutely no role in conceptualising, announcing or executing projects involving temple funds.
“It is not for the State to make grandiose announcements relating to the deployment of temple funds,” the Bench declared. “They have, to put it bluntly, no business to deploy temple funds unilaterally.”
Reiterating the protections enshrined under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the Court underlined that religious denominations enjoy autonomy in managing their own affairs, subject only to lawful regulation, not executive domination.
The Bench made it clear that the power to regulate religious institutions does not extend to usurping their management or finances.
Trustees Kept Out for 13 Years: ‘Travesty of the Act’
The judgment also exposed a glaring statutory violation by the HR&CE Department in failing to constitute a Board of Trustees for the Sri Kallazhagar Temple for over 13 years. Despite the temple earning several crores of rupees annually and clearly qualifying for trustee-led administration under Section 47(iii) of the HR&CE Act, it continued to be managed by a ‘Fit Person’ and an Executive Officer.
“To have such a temple managed by a Fit Person and an Executive Officer is a travesty of the scheme of the Act,” the Court remarked.
The Bench pointed out that the Executive Officer currently managing the temple was originally appointed in 1966, directly contradicting repeated Supreme Court rulings which have held that such appointments must be temporary, exceptional and crisis-specific.
Lack of Accountability
The High Court’s findings reveal what it described as a “casual and careless” approach to financial management by the HR&CE Department. The judges recorded multiple statutory breaches, including:
- Failure to prepare budgets as mandated under Section 86 of the HR&CE Act
- Absence of transparency in sanctioning and approving expenditures
- No proof of audits conducted for at least three consecutive financial years
- Massive spending of temple funds without trustee approval or statutory authority
The Court observed that there was “nothing on record” to indicate that officials were even aware of the legal limits governing temple finances.
₹45 Crore Spent Without Authority in One Year
One of the most damning revelations in the judgment relates to the depletion of the temple’s accumulated surplus funds. According to records examined by the Court, the temple’s reserves plummeted from approximately ₹107.6 crore in 2023 to about ₹62 crore in 2024, a staggering reduction of nearly ₹45 crore within a single year.
“This reduction represents expenditure without budgeting and without authority,” the Bench observed, calling it a matter of serious concern and indicative of illegal diversion of funds.
The Court noted that such depletion occurred in the absence of any properly sanctioned project, budget approval, or trustee oversight.
Temple Funds Belong to the Deity, Not the State
Invoking its parens patriae jurisdiction, the High Court underscored a foundational principle of Hindu religious jurisprudence: temple funds vest solely in the deity.
“The entirety of the funds, current or accumulated, vests in the deity,” the Bench held, clarifying that neither the State, the HR&CE Department, trustees nor ministers have proprietary rights over temple wealth.
The judges went on to state that unauthorised diversion of temple funds constitutes nothing less than a “crime against the deity,” marking one of the strongest judicial articulations on the issue in recent years.
Government Orders Quashed, Works Halted
Concluding that the impugned Government Order amounted to an unlawful usurpation of temple management by the State, the Court:
- Quashed G.O. Ms. No.135 dated March 8, 2024
- Set aside the work order dated October 11, 2024
- Confirmed the stay on all further construction activities
- Issued detailed directions to ensure future compliance with constitutional and statutory provisions
The ruling sends a clear message that development cannot override dharma, law or constitutional boundaries.
Legal observers believe the 91-page judgment will have sweeping implications across Tamil Nadu, where hundreds of temples continue to remain under prolonged HR&CE control without duly constituted Boards of Trustees.
Source & Credit: This article is based on information reported by The Commune.
