Supreme Court declines to issue pan-India directions on temple encroachment, says state-specific action needed. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi dismissed a petition seeking the constitution of committees to examine encroachment of temple properties across the country. The Court observed that temple management trusts already exist in various states and issues of mismanagement can be addressed by courts on a case-by-case basis, adding that it cannot issue directions that become unmanageable on a nationwide scale.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that temple websites lack basic information, including details of properties, encroachments, and damage to temple structures, and that only a handful of temples fall under statutory trusts. He referenced orders of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directing the takeover and protection of several shrines, including a 2024 order where the HC directed the Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar to take over management of over 159 kanals of land belonging to Raghu Nath Ji Temple in Barzulla, Srinagar. The HC also directed the Anantnag Deputy Commissioner to take overthe management of Nagbal Gautam Nag Temple.
The counsel clarified he was only seeking dedicated committees to keep track of temple encroachments across the country, noting that temple priests are often too timid and scared to even report to collectors. However, CJI Surya Kant observed that no omnibus directions can be issued on a pan-India basis. The Court granted liberty to the petitioner to make representations before the concerned authorities only for case-specific issues.
When the Supreme Court refuses pan-India oversight for systematic temple land encroachments, it leaves thousands of temples at the mercy of state governments that have shown little will to protect them. Temple properties worth thousands of crores remain under illegal occupation, while priests remain too scared to report. This is not federalism. This is abandonment of dharmic duty. State-by-state action has failed for decades. Temple protection needs institutional urgency, not case-by-case delays.
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