The Supreme Court has ruled that a State Government cannot accept temple land as a gift, because it holds such property only as a custodian. A Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe declared a 2017 gift deed void but allowed the Taluk Office built on the land to continue on higher rent.
Background
The dispute concerns about one acre of land in Kodumudi Village, Erode, belonging to Nagapalayam Mariamman-Ponnachiamman Temple. On 30 August 2017, S. Bhoopathy, a temporary trustee, gifted the land to the Government of Tamil Nadu for a Taluk Office.
The Madras High Court dismissed the hereditary trustee’s petition. It observed that Section 34 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 does not mention gifts. Devotees of the temple then approached the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the State itself stated in an affidavit that the land is inam land, meaning land granted to the deity for its upkeep. The Bench held that such land is governed by Section 41, which declares gifts of inam property void and permits sanction only for other transactions. It also found that registering the deed was contrary to Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908.
The Court added that trustees must manage property as carefully as a prudent person would manage their own, and a gift without any return cannot meet that standard. On the State’s role, the Bench said:
“The State, acting through the Commissioner and other functionaries under the 1959 Act, is a custodian and regulator of temple properties, not their owner. An acceptance of a gift of temple land by a Revenue functionary, however laudable the public purpose it is intended to serve, offends the object of the 1959 Act.”
The Bench also noted that the State defended the gift for years and changed its stand only after the Court sought clarification in 2022. It remarked:
“A department of the State, which is the statutory custodian of temple properties, ought to have recognised this position at the threshold. It should not have taken a challenge before this Court, and the probing of the issue by this Court, to bring it about.”
The Court set aside the High Court’s order and declared the land to be temple property and the gift deed null and void. Since a Taluk Office has been built with public funds, the lease was not annulled. Rent was raised to Rs 31,000 per month from 8 March 2019, to be revised every three years, with arrears payable within three months.
The State must also pay Rs 1 lakh as costs to the temple within eight weeks and strictly follow Sections 34, 34-A and 41 in future.
