Supreme Court Upholds Return of Thirunelly Temple Deposits, Says Deity’s Funds Can’t Prop Up Co-Op Banks

Overview

• A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi dismissed appeals by Mananthawady Co-operative Urban Society Ltd and Thirunelly Service Cooperative Bank Ltd.
• The court affirmed that temple money belongs to the deity and must be saved, protected and used only for temple interests.
• The banks were given liberty to seek more time for compliance from the Kerala High Court.
• The High Court’s August ruling directed five cooperative societies in Wayanad to close the Devaswom’s fixed deposits and repay them after refusals to release matured sums.
• The bench questioned keeping endowment funds in stressed cooperatives and pointed to transferring them to a healthy nationalised bank to secure interest.