Devotees don't offer money to temples for setting up marriage halls: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay a High Court's order which held temple funds couldn’t be treated as public or government funds, and that the money offered by devotees was not meant for the construction of marriage halls.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, while hearing the pleas challenging the Madras High Court's decision, said, “devotees do not offer their money to the temple for the purpose of setting up these marriage halls. It may be for the improvement of the temple.”

“If there is a marriage party going on in a temple's premises and all kinds of vulgar songs are played, is that the purpose of a temple's land,” the bench further asked.

The court felt that such money be utilised for charitable purposes such as education and towards medical institutions.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and other lawyers were representing the petitioners.

The bench observed that the issue was whether the decision taken by the government was right or wrong.

The court, however, agreed to hear the challenge and fixed the matter for hearing on November 19.

"We will hear this matter. We are not granting any stay order to the petitioners,” the bench said.

The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had quashed the government orders allowing the construction of marriage halls with funds belonging to five temples at different locations in Tamil Nadu.

The high court, in an order passed on August 19, held that the government’s decision to construct marriage halls for rental purposes by giving them for wedding functions wasn’t within the definition of “religious purposes”.

In the high court, it was contended that the government had no jurisdiction to utilise temple funds or surplus funds for the construction of marriage halls under the provisions of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act and its rules.