SC: Temple funds belong to deity, can’t be used to save co-op banks

Drawing a “Lakshman Rekha” on the use of temple funds, the Supreme Court on Friday said struggling banks could not use the money belonging to a deity to stay afloat.

“Temple money belongs to the deity and hence, it has to be saved, protected and utilised only for the interests of the temple and cannot become a source of income or survival for a cooperative bank,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said while hearing appeals filed by cooperative banks against a Kerala High Court order directing them to return deposits belonging to the Thirunelly Temple Devaswom.

The Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi, questioned the banks’ resistance to shifting the deposits and sought to draw the “Lakshman Rekha” on use of temple funds, saying that reiterate that temple wealth was not an instrument for bank recovery.

“You want to use the temple money to save the bank? What is wrong with directing that the temple money, instead of being in a cooperative bank which is breathing with great difficulty, should go to a healthy nationalised bank which can give maximum interest,” CJI Kant said.

Noting that banks must build trust instead of relying on institutional (temple) funds to stay afloat, the top court refused to entertain the appeals filed by Mananthavady Co-operative Urban Society Ltd and Thirunelly Service Cooperative Bank Ltd even as it allowed them to move the state high court extension of time to comply with the order.

The petitioners contended that the high court’s order to immediately close the Devaswom’s fixed deposits put them in a difficult position.

However, the top court said, “If you are unable to attract customers and deposits, that’s your problem.” The dispute began when several cooperative banks declined repeated requests from the Thirunelly Devaswom to release matured fixed deposits.

The Devaswom moved the Kerala High Court after several cooperative banks turned down repeated requests to release matured fixed deposits. The high court directed Thirunelly Service Cooperative Bank Ltd, Susheela Gopalan Smaraka Vanitha Cooperative Society Ltd, Mananthavady Cooperative Rural Society Ltd, Mananthavady Co-operative Urban Society Ltd, and Wayanad Temple Employees Cooperative Society Ltd to refund the entire amount within two months. It was this HC order that the cooperative banks challenged in the top court.