Authored By: Kimaya Joshi (B.B.A.LL.B (Hons)), NMIMS Hyderabad, Research Writer at Law Audience,
Edited By: Mr. Varun Kumar, Advocate, Himachal, Punjab & Haryana and Founder at Law Audience
The administration and management of funds of temples is one of long-debated topics in India. Recently gotten into limelight due to the introduction of the Temple Autonomy, Governance and Cultural Heritage Management Bill, 2026. The said bill is a private member bill introduced by Sujeet Kumar[1] in Rajya Sabha on 6th February 2026. It dates back to the colonial period where the temples were perceived as institutions with enormous wealth and socio-political significance by Britishers. This led to the encroachment of the Hindu authority over their religious institutions.
Historically, Hindu temples were managed by community trusts, local kings, or hereditary custodians. However, this changed with Britishers passing regulations like Madras Regulation VII in 1871 to take over the administration of temples in South India and similar regulations in other parts of India. This was to further their efforts to achieve their colonization agenda by dismantling the Hindu temple ecosystem.
After India’s Independence in 1947, one of the things that remained was the policy to make temples subject of state regulation. The acts like the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951 and the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 were enacted to extend control of state to administration of temples especially on grounds of mismanagement and corruptions.[2]
This regulation by states have been criticized due to the violation of Article 25 (1) “provides that subject to exceptions like public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of Part III of the Constitution, ll persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion”[3] and Article 26 “Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right—
- to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;
- to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;
- to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and
- to administer such property in accordance with law.”[4]
The power for state intervention is also granted in the Article 25(2) of the Constitution “to regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice and provide for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus.”[5]
The Temple Autonomy, Governance and Cultural Heritage Management Bill, 2026 was hence introduced to “give effect to the constitutional guarantee of religious autonomy under articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India by providing a national framework for autonomous, transparent, community-led and professionally governed management of Hindu temples and religious endowments; to ensure protection of India’s temple heritage, rituals and traditions; to secure financial integrity and optimal utilisation of temple assets for religious and community welfare purposes; and other purposes connected and incidental to the object”.
The Bill acknowledges that the administration of Hindu religious institutions unlike the religious institutions of minority communities in several States continues to be governed by State-controlled statutory mechanisms under various Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments laws, which overtime resulted in excessive bureaucratic control over religious affairs, diversion of temple revenues for non-religious purposes, political intervention in temple administration and dilution of traditional Agamic, ritualistic and architectural practices.
So, it seeks to “establish a uniform national framework to provide for autonomous, transparent and professionally governed management of Hindu temples and religious endowments, consistent with articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution with an aim to de-bureaucratize temple administration, ensure financial integrity and accountability, protect cultural and architectural heritage, and enable lawful and productive utilization of temple assets for religious and community welfare purposes.”
The bill seeks to establish two boards, the Independent Temple Management Board and the National Temple Heritage Authority. The administration of temples is transferred from the State to the Independent Temple Management Board by the virtue of the Bill with the Board consisting of independent personal like denominational representatives, a chartered accountant, expert in law, heritage conservationist and a representative of employees of temple.
The transfer of the administrative control ensures that there is an actual transfer of the authority overseeing the temple activities by laying down that upon such transfer, the management of all temple assets would vest in the Board, offices of state government would cease to exercise any executive or administrative control over such temple, all the existing records, accounts and properties to be handed over to the board while ensuring that all the legal proceedings pending immediately before such transfer to continue in the name of the temple. While providing autonomy, the bill also seeks to ensure that the primary purpose of state interventions in these religious institutions is fulfilled by dealing with the management of temple’s funds in designated chapter IV.
National Temple Authority on the other hand is an extension of the Central Government to appoint constitute and regulate the Independent Temple Management Boards, frame and notify minimum governance standards for them and establish and maintain a comprehensive, publicly accessible National Digital Temple Registry while also discharging its heritage protection and advisory role.
For the purpose of audit and supervision, the bill classifies temples into 3 categories – Temples, Heritage Temples and Large Temples as notified by the Central Government, with Large Temples being the ones with average annual revenue exceeding one hundred crores over the preceding three financial years. For every temple, here is a mandatory annual audit to be conducted by an independent auditor and in case of the temple being a large temple, they shall be subject to a statutory, social and heritage impact audits.
The act hence, lays down the foundation for facilitating freeing of temples which is supported widely due to various reasons including religious autonomy, mismanagement and corruption of funds by State Government, Secularism and equal treatment of religious institutions while promoting religious governance by devotees.[6] There needs to be a balance between autonomy of religious institutions and state oversight in need to prevent mismanagement and benefit community as a whole.
Footnotes:
[1] Sujeet Kumar | PRSIndia, PRS Legislative Research, https://prsindia.org/mptrack/rajya-sabha/sujeet-kumar (last visited May 19, 2026).
[2] Rati Agnihotri, State Control of Hindu Temples in India: A Historical Perspective, Hindu Dvesha (July 27, 2024), https://stophindudvesha.org/state-control-of-hindu-temples-in-india-a-historical-perspective/.
[3] Article 25: Freedom of Conscience and Free Profession, Practice and Propagation of Religion, Constitution of India, https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-25-freedom-of-conscience-and-free-profession-practice-and-propagation-of-religion/ (last visited May 18, 2026).
[4] Article 26: Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs, Constitution of India 26, https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-26-freedom-to-manage-religious-affairs/ (last visited May 18, 2026).
[5] Article 25, supra note 3.
[6] Swathi Satish, State Control of Temples in India: Arguments for and against State Control | ClearIAS, (Oct. 5, 2024), https://www.clearias.com/state-control-of-temples/.
