On Friday, Chief Justice Surya Kant made a crucial remark, stating that temple monies belong to God and cannot be utilized to support cash-strapped cooperative banks. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant (CJI) and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made the scathing remark while hearing petitions from various cooperative banks opposing a Kerala High Court ruling asking them to repay funds deposited with the Thirunelli Temple Devaswom.
Chief Justice Surya Kant asked
CJI Surya Kant asked, “Do you intend to utilize the temple’s money to preserve the bank? What’s wrong with directing that the temple’s money be transferred from a struggling cooperative bank to a healthy nationalized bank that can provide the highest interest rate?” The CJI said that the temple’s money belongs to the deity and should be conserved, protected, and used purely for the temple’s benefit, rather than as a source of income or livelihood for a cooperative bank.
Mananthavady Co-operative Urban Society Limited and Thirunelli Service Cooperative Bank Limited filed applications against the High Court ruling. The High Court ordered five cooperative banks to cancel the Devaswom’s fixed deposits and restore the full sum within two months after the institutions consistently refused to release the matured savings. The judges disagreed with the banks’ claim that the High Court’s unexpected mandate was causing problems.
The bench stated that banks must increase their public credibility. “If you can’t bring in customers and deposits, that’s your problem,” he remarked. The top court refuses to hear the applications. However, it permitted the banks to petition the High Court for an extension of time to comply with the contentious ruling.
