New Delhi, Dec 5 (NationPress) The Supreme Court declared on Friday that temple funds “belong to the deity” and must not be utilized to support struggling cooperative banks. This statement was made by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while rejecting special leave petitions (SLPs) from cooperative banks in Kerala, contesting a directive from the Kerala High Court to promptly return fixed deposits from the Thirunelly Temple Devaswom.

The CJI Kant-led Bench refused to intervene with the directives of the Kerala High Court, asserting that the funds collected from devotees should be “preserved, safeguarded, and used solely for the temple's welfare” and cannot serve as a “source of revenue or survival” for any cooperative bank.

“Are you seeking to utilize temple funds to rescue the bank?… First and foremost, temple money belongs to the deity,” the apex court remarked, rejecting the cooperative bank’s SLP against the Kerala High Court’s order to return matured deposits and reallocate these funds to nationalized banks.

The cooperative banks contended before the Supreme Court that the Kerala High Court’s “sudden” two-month deadline complicated compliance. The Bench emphasized that these deposits should be released promptly upon maturity, stating, “You must earn the trust of the people. If you cannot attract customers and deposits, that is your challenge.”

Although the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, it permitted the banks to approach the Kerala High Court for an extension regarding repayment.

The SLPs were submitted by the Mananthawady Co-operative Urban Society Ltd and the Thirunelly Service Co-operative Bank Ltd after the Kerala High Court determined that temples governed by the Malabar Devaswom Board are prohibited from keeping deposits with cooperative societies in violation of established circulars.

The Kerala HC’s detailed ruling highlighted that the Malabar Devaswom Board’s circulars explicitly forbid temples from maintaining deposits in cooperative banks. Following an audit review, it concluded that the banks possessed “no right whatsoever” to deny the closure of these deposits.

“If any temple under the Malabar Devaswom Board has funds deposited in any cooperative society, such deposits should be withdrawn upon maturity and reinvested in authorized banks and financial institutions,” stated a Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and K.V. Jayakumar.