“State is custodian, not owner”: SC quashes Tamil Nadu temple land transfer
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has struck down a 2017 gift deed that transferred land of the Nagapalayam Mariamman-Ponnachiamman Temple in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district to the State Government, holding that a custodian cannot claim ownership of temple property.
A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, in its October 16 judgment in K. Ramalingam v. Government of Tamil Nadu, set aside the Madras High Court’s 2019 order. The land in Kodumudi village, measuring 1 acre and 10 cents, had been gifted by S. Bhoopathy, a temporary trustee, for construction of a Taluk Office.
The HR&CE Department’s Assistant Commissioner had stated on affidavit that the land belonged to the deity and the trustee had no authority to convey it. Even so, the Revenue Department mutated the property in the name of the Taluk Office, reclassified it as ‘Sarkar Poramboke’ and began construction.
The State defended the gift before the Supreme Court, claiming in October 2019 that the land vested absolutely in the Government. It accepted the temple’s ownership only after the Court demanded an affidavit from the Endowments Secretary in February 2022.
The High Court had held that the gift was not prohibited because Section 34 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, did not expressly mention gifts. The Supreme Court found that the land was an inam granted for the deity’s maintenance and was governed instead by Section 41, which expressly bars such gifts. The deed was void from the outset, and its registration could not validate the transfer.
“The State, acting through the Commissioner and other functionaries under the 1959 Act, is a custodian and regulator of temple properties, not their owner,” the Bench said. It said the need for a Taluk Office could not justify the gift.
Since the Taluk Office had already been built, the Court allowed the Government to occupy the land as a tenant. It raised the monthly rent from Rs 13,235 to Rs 31,000 with effect from March 8, 2019, ordered arrears to be paid within three months and imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh, payable to the temple within eight weeks.
The temple trust will determine future lease terms. Rent must be refixed every three years and cannot fall below Rs 31,000. It also directed officials to follow statutory safeguards when dealing with temple property.
