Supreme Court Rules Temple Funds Belong to Deity, Cannot Support Struggling Banks

Dec 06, 2025 01:11 am CST

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that temple funds belong exclusively to the deity and cannot be used to aid struggling cooperative banks. Chief Justice Surya Kant emphasized that money collected from devotees must be protected and used only for temple interests while dismissing petitions from Kerala-based cooperative banks challenging directives to return fixed deposits of the Thirunelly Temple Devaswom.